ThailandAccording to coach Giustozzi Diego, if they still play as well as they lost 1-2 to Uzbekistan in the quarterfinals, Vietnam will be able to compete for a ticket to the Futsal World Cup.
On the evening of April 24, Vietnam faced Uzbekistan. The team will win tickets to the semi-finals and also attend the World Cup for the third time. Against a higher-rated opponent, Vietnam still played confidently, retaliated and even opened the score in the 17th minute thanks to Thinh Phat’s close-range shot.
Under pressure from Uzbekistan, Vietnam defended resiliently, with highlights including excellent saves by goalkeeper Ho Nhu Y as well as a few lucky moments when the ball bounced off the crossbar and post. However, the loss of physical strength towards the end of the second half made it impossible for Vietnam to stand firm, conceding two goals in six minutes.
Coach Giustozzi Diego responded to the press conference after losing to Uzbekistan in the quarterfinals of the 2024 Asian futsal tournament.
“I am satisfied with the players’ performance. They defended well in 4-on-4 situations. Vietnam controlled the game well, creating more advantages in the first half. If the players took advantage Better use of opportunities, the score difference could have been created,” coach Diego said. “In the second half, Uzbekistan used a 5-man style of play to attack, but we still controlled the situation. However, unfortunately, we had to concede two goals from corner kicks.”
Before losing the decisive goal in the 39th minute, Vietnam also had a chance to finish off the opponent in the 37th minute when Minh Quang faced the Uzbekistan goalkeeper, but his shot hit the post and bounced out. “I want the players to understand that Vietnam played well against Uzbekistan. They are a team that regularly participates in the futsal World Cup, and are often present in matches that dispute the continent’s rankings. We tried our best.” Do your best and complete the task well. If we continue to play like this, the team will have a good chance of competing for tickets to the World Cup,” the Argentine coach continued.
Vietnam 1-2 Uzbekistan
According to the format of the 2024 Asian futsal tournament, the four quarterfinal winners will win tickets to the World Cup. The four losing teams will play off to compete for the remaining ticket. On April 26, Vietnam will meet Kyrgyzstan in the first play-off match, and Iraq will play Afghanistan in the remaining match. The two winning teams will meet in the final play-off match on April 28. “The tournament is not over yet, and we still have goals ahead. The important thing now is to recover both physically and mentally to have the best play-off match,” coach Diego added.
Duc Dong
