Cong Phuong: 'U23 Vietnam will put aside sadness and try to win the last match'

The striker from HAGL and other players are trying to forget the sadness of being eliminated from the group stage, to find a farewell gift for the 2016 U23 Asian Cup.

"Losing two consecutive matches and being officially eliminated, the whole team is very sad. But we encourage each other to forget those losses and aim for a victory against U23 UAE, as a gift for the fans when saying goodbye to the tournament," Cong Phuong shared after the training session yesterday afternoon, January 18. "For myself, I set a goal to score against U23 UAE in the upcoming match."

Cong Phuong aims to score against U23 UAE. Photo: Duc Dong.

In the first two matches of Group D of the AFC U23 Championship finals, Vietnam U23 lost 1-3 to Jordan U23, then 0-2 to Australia U23 and had to leave the tournament early in their first participation.

This result is far below the initial goal that coach Miura and his team set - to reach the quarter-finals. But the reality shows that there is a clear difference between U23 Vietnam and opponents with superior class and level. Cong Phuong and his teammates tried their best, but still suffered the predicted defeats.

The striker himself, who came from the HAGL JMG training center, played the full 180 minutes in the last two matches, but did not have many opportunities to score. He played energetically on the front line, but when facing the tall and well-organized defenses of U23 Jordan and U23 Australia, Cong Phuong had almost no space to demonstrate his scoring ability.

Meanwhile, midfielder Duy Manh - who scored the only goal for U23 Vietnam in the last two matches - said: "The whole team always plays with the highest spirit to seek good results. However, unexpected things happened and the results were bad. We will not give up, but will concentrate to the highest level, play a good match against U23 UAE to thank the attention of the home fans."

Duy Manh is the only player to score a goal for U23 Vietnam at the finals. Photo: Duc Dong.

Currently, the U23 Vietnam team has two injured players: defender Thanh Hien and midfielder Duy Khanh. These two players have to stay at the hotel to recover and cannot practice with their teammates. Meanwhile, striker Pham Van Thanh has fully recovered from his injury and returned to practice with the team.

Tomorrow night, January 20, at 11:30 (Hanoi time), U23 Vietnam will meet U23 UAE. This team from the Gulf region currently has four points with the top team Jordan. To be sure of a ticket to the next round, they need a victory against U23 Vietnam.

Table D

According to VNE