Coach Mai Duc Chung: 'Vietnam will defeat Cambodia!'

Coach Mai Duc Chung affirmed that the Vietnamese team will compete and win with a collective style of play. This is completely opposite to what Cambodia showed.

“Cambodia relies a lot on Chan Vathanaka. He scored both of the last two goals for the Cambodian national team. One against Vietnam. One against Indonesia recently. We rate him highly.

In terms of playing style, many teams depend on individuals, many teams depend on the collective. The Vietnamese team chooses a collective playing style. Of course, we have to pay attention to Chan Vathanaka to reduce his range of activity in tomorrow's match," coach Mai Duc Chung shared at a press conference before the match this morning (October 9).

In the first leg, the Vietnamese team faced many difficulties when playing on artificial turf, while most of the players had just gone through a 2-month break from playing in the 2017 V-League. Coach Mai Duc Chung also knew that fans were not satisfied with the team's playing style. However, in his opinion, 3 points were still the most important.

The head coach of the Vietnam national team said: “I myself am a striker, I also choose an attacking style as my main style, but depending on the match and the opponent, I choose how to play. I would like to confirm that.

Football must be pragmatic, we have not been able to achieve what the audience wants: winning a lot, winning beautifully, winning resoundingly, but I hope everyone understands. 3 points in the first leg is the best.

In the second leg, we will play offensively but must defend well to avoid counter-attacks. The ultimate goal is to win and get 3 points."

Mr. Chung also explained in more detail the case of striker Ha Duc Chinh being called up but not joining the national team at the last minute. Coach Mai Duc Chung shared that it was an agreement between him and Coach Le Huynh Duc of SHB Da Nang.

“The Vietnam national team called up the best players. I called coach Huynh Duc directly and he said that Ha Duc Chinh had not recovered, was still injured, not at 100% strength and advised me to let him stay at the club to practice.

I agree and throughout the past time we have agreed on the working method that the head coach of the national team must have regular phone calls with the club coaches," coach Mai Duc Chung shared.

Meanwhile, captain Nguyen Van Quyet was highly appreciated by coach Leonardo Vitorino. However, the 26-year-old striker was quite calm. He said: “Personally, Quyet thinks that a strong individual is not enough to make a strong team. In the upcoming match, Vietnam needs a united team, trying to win. Individuals are never more important than the team.”

Tomorrow's match at My Dinh Stadium is also the moment to say goodbye to coach Mai Duc Chung. Van Quyet, on behalf of the whole team, sent his thanks to coach Mai Duc Chung for his dedication and determination to win with the team. "Thank you, father Chung, thank you for what you have given to the team in the past short time," Van Quyet said at the press conference.

The match between Vietnam and Cambodia will take place at 6:30 p.m. tomorrow (October 10) at My Dinh National Stadium.

According to Thethaovanhoa