Coach Ngo Quang Truong: 'The most important thing in football is winning'

The strategist currently leading Song Lam Nghe An believes that fans should not criticize Coach Miura and his team too much, because although there are still areas that need improvement, the important thing is that they won.

“There are still many areas that need improvement in the Vietnamese team's performance. But the most important thing is that Coach Miura's team won when the final whistle blew. The three points gained against Taiwan are extremely important, helping the Vietnamese team continue to harbor hopes of competing with Thailand and Iraq in the second round of the 2018 World Cup qualifiers – Asian region,” Coach Ngo Quang Truong shared with VnExpress.

Coach Ngo Quang Truong believes that many people have underestimated Taiwan - Vietnam's opponent.

The strategist currently leading Song Lam Nghe An refused to specifically point out the shortcomings of the Vietnamese national team. He stated that his principle is not to criticize a colleague's team because each person has a different philosophy and way of using players.

“Fans should also reconsider their assessment of Taiwan before criticizing Coach Miura. We often look to the past, assuming this opponent is very weak and that Vietnam will win easily. However, based on what they showed on the field, I think Taiwan is not easy to play against at all. They have players who used to play for Anderlecht in Belgium and several who have competed in the Chinese national league; they are not ordinary teams. Even a highly-rated Thailand team only managed to beat Taiwan by two goals. Therefore, Vietnam's hard-fought victory is understandable,” added Coach Ngo Quang Truong.

Taiwan (in blue) showed they are not the easy opponent they once were. Photo: LTN.

Despite being considered far superior to Taiwan, the Vietnamese team struggled at the Municipal Stadium, even seemingly on the verge of a draw after conceding a 1-1 equalizer in the 83rd minute. It was only thanks to a somewhat fortunate goal from Phi Son in the third minute of added time that Coach Miura's team secured all three points.

“This morning, I sat down with some former The Cong players to prepare for the 50th anniversary of our enlistment. When discussing the Vietnamese national team, everyone agreed that the victory of Coach Miura's team was unconvincing and heavily reliant on luck,” Coach Vuong Tien Dung shared with VnExpress this afternoon, September 9th.

The strategist, who has led many teams such as The Cong, Thanh Hoa, Can Tho, etc., believes that the biggest problem for the Vietnamese national team currently is the lack of a defined playing style.

"The Vietnamese national team needs to develop a distinctive playing style so that even if they lose, fans still have some hope for the future. Our current approach is to train and prepare for each tournament in a reactive manner, then make a commitment to play their best. If we continue like this, Vietnamese football will forever remain stuck in a rut, unable to progress," the strategist born in 1949 added.

The Vietnamese national team is currently third in Group F with three points after two matches. Thailand leads the group (seven points, three matches), followed by Iraq in second place (four points, two matches). On October 8th and 13th, Coach Miura's team will host these two opponents at My Dinh Stadium.

According to VNE