Coach Nguyen Quoc Tuan: "Players entering the field to score goals are within the coaching staff's calculations"

In the opening match of Group A of the 2019 Southeast Asian U22 tournament, U22 Vietnam struggled to win with a margin of only 2-1 against U22 Philippines. Despite creating many scoring opportunities, on an unlucky day, the players on the attack line could not meet the expectations of the coaching staff and fans.

Coach Nguyen Quoc Tuan praised the players who scored. Photo: Sport 5

Until U22 Vietnam was behind in the 51st minute, it seemed that the players had just woken up and with reasonable personnel adjustments from the coaching staff, in the last 15 minutes of the match, Coach Nguyen Anh Tuan's students had an equalizer and a goal to increase the score thanks to the pair of substitute strikers Minh Binh and Danh Trung.

Sharing about today's match results, Coach Nguyen Quoc Tuan said: "The weather is too hot and stuffy, combined with playing on artificial turf, causing the players to lose a lot of energy and affecting their skills. However, we have made adjustments to help the players adapt quickly."

The only goal that U22 Vietnam conceded came from a foul in front of the 16m50 box. From the penalty spot, Jeremiah Borlongan unleashed a tricky free kick that completely defeated goalkeeper Van Bieu, helping U22 Philippines gain the advantage of leading the score and causing some psychological pressure on us.

Talking about this goal conceded in the beginning of the second half, Mr. Tuan said: "I am very worried about the fouls outside the penalty area and will definitely have to review that."

Before leaving the press conference room, the captain of U22 Vietnam did not forget to express his gratitude to the audience who were present at the Olympics and contributed significantly to the comeback achievement of him and his students.