Coach Huu Thang praised Cong Phuong's goal as a masterpiece.

The Vietnamese national team's strategist was pleased with his team's performance in the 1-1 draw with Taiwan on the afternoon of March 22nd.

Cong Phuong scored a goal to help the Vietnamese team avoid defeat. Photo: Ngoc Dung

"Cong Phuong played well, his goal was truly spectacular," coach Nguyen Huu Thang shared after the match at Hang Day Stadium.

In this match, the Vietnamese team was considered the favorite but conceded a goal to Pin-Hsien Lee in the 84th minute. However, just four minutes later, Cong Phuong saved the home team from defeat with a volley from outside the penalty area; the ball deflected off an opposing defender and went into the far corner.

In the 2018 World Cup qualifiers for the Asian region, the Vietnamese national team, under the guidance of coach Toshiya Miura, defeated Taiwan 4-1 on their opponent's home ground. In the rematch at Hang Day Stadium, coach Huu Thang's team only managed a 1-1 draw. However, the strategist born in 1972 still expressed great satisfaction.

"I'm very pleased. It's good that the players didn't get injured on a bad pitch. Technically, there's not much to say because some young players couldn't handle the pressure and didn't play to their full potential. If the Vietnamese team had veterans like Minh Tuan and Van Quyet today, the match would have been decided much earlier," the coach from Nghe An added.

Coach Huu Thang said that Taiwan's performance was nothing to worry about, Vietnam controlled the game for the entire 90 minutes, and the goal conceded was just an individual error."That situation didn't warrant a corner kick. The moment we conceded the corner, I turned to the coaching staff and told them we might concede a goal. And what I feared came true," he said.

Today (March 23), the Vietnamese national team traveled to Tajikistan to prepare for their match against Afghanistan in the final qualifying round of the 2019 Asian Cup. Coach Huu Thang announced that goalkeeper Van Lam and striker Van Thang are injured and will not be traveling with the team.

According to VNE