Japanese Olympic Coach: 'Vietnam Olympic team defends very well'

Besides the unfavorable weather, the defensive play of the Vietnamese Olympic team was also a factor that forced the Japanese Olympic team to exert all their strength for the 2-0 victory yesterday, March 29.

Japan Olympic team was considered to be at a much higher level than Vietnam Olympic team when entering the second match of Group I of the Asian U23 qualifying round yesterday. However, that difference in level was not clearly shown on the scoreboard or the situation of the match on the field.

The Japanese Olympic team had a hard time against the well-organized and tightly-covered two-tiered defense of the Vietnamese Olympic team. Coach Teguramori Makoto's team had to wait until the end of the first half to open the scoring and sealed the result 2-0 in the third minute of injury time in the second half thanks to Nakajima.

Coach Makoto admitted that his Japanese Olympic team had a hard time getting all three points yesterday. Photo: Duc Dong.

"Vietnam Olympic organized a very good defense for most of the time.The rain and the slippery, wet pitch also caused us a lot of difficulties. Things only got a little easier after the opening goal at the end of the first half. With our mentality relaxed, we played much more comfortably in the second half," said Mr. Makoto after the match.

However, the Vietnamese Olympic team did not only know how to defend. When there was an opportunity, they quickly passed the ball up to Cong Phuong. Coach Miura's team also proved to be dangerous in set pieces, with two clear opportunities but lacking a bit of precision to materialize. Tan Tai, with a tricky header, was denied by the Japanese Olympic goalkeeper, and Ngoc Hai missed his shot.

"This was not an easy victory.We tried very hard to score and neutralize the opponent's scoring opportunities. I am very happy with this result," added coach Makoto.

Vietnam Olympic team made Japan Olympic team score several times from set pieces. Photo: Duc Dong.

In yesterday's match, the Japanese Olympic team started two players who are playing in Europe, Kubo Yuya and Minamino Takumi. But Kubo looked lost and could not find a common voice with his teammates. Minamino was better, contributing to the opening goal, but also failed to live up to expectations when he missed two good chances. The duo were both substituted in the second half.

However, Mr. Makoto still gave words of encouragement to his two star students: "This tournament is a good opportunity for young players to experiment. The same goes for the players returning from Europe. They have combined well with domestic players and I hope they will develop further in the following matches."

In the final round, Olympic Japan will meet host Olympic Malaysia and only need to earn one point in this match to secure a ticket to the final round of the U23 Asian Cup in Qatar next year.

According to VNE