Coach Hua Hien Vinh explains why U19 Vietnam lost to Australia

On the afternoon of July 21, the U19 Vietnam team faced U19 Australia in the second match of Group B of the 2024 Southeast Asian U19 tournament. Despite their best efforts, the coach and his team lost to their opponents with a heavy score of 2-6.

With this defeat, the Vietnam U19 team was almost eliminated in the group stage of the 2024 Southeast Asian U19 tournament, when only the 3 best group winners and 1 best second-place team qualified for the semi-finals.

Speaking after the match, coach Hua Hien Vinh acknowledged his players' progress compared to the opening match. However, he also admitted that his players still lacked experience in international competition and had to face an opponent considered the strongest in the tournament.

Coach Hua Hien Vinh said: “Although the team played better and tried harder, they still lost to U19 Australia. I would like to congratulate U19 Australia on their victory. Just as we predicted before the tournament, they are the strongest team in this group and deserve to be chosen as the top candidate for the championship.”

The heavy defeat against the young team from the Land of the Kangaroos also revealed the weaknesses in the combat experience of U19 Vietnam when participating in the international arena.

“Although the team has 3 friendly matches in China, that is not enough for the players to gain experience and prepare for a highly competitive tournament like the U19 Southeast Asia. Hopefully, through this journey, the players will improve to prepare for the 2024 U20 Asian qualifiers,” coach Hua Hien Vinh shared.

The U19 Vietnam team still has one last match against U19 Laos in the group stage. The result of this match will also have some impact on the ability of U19 Vietnam to continue. Coach Hua Hien Vinh said: "We will definitely use the strongest lineup to win. The team will prepare well to be determined to get 3 points"./.