Coach Park Hang-seo confused because he may have to redraw the 2018 Asiad

“The goal of the Vietnam Olympic team is to pass the group stage at this year’s Asian Games. However, as far as I know, the draw will most likely have to be re-organized. We need to know our opponents well so that we can assess the situation and analyze tactics for the matches,” Coach Park Hang-seo shared.

In the draw held on July 5, Vietnam was placed in Group D with Japan, Pakistan and Nepal. However, the result could be overturned because in that draw, host Indonesia forgot to include UAE and Palestine, the two countries that advanced to the knockout stage, in the second seed.

The Asian Football Confederation has asked the Indonesian Olympic Committee to redraw the lots. However, the host country has not yet responded. They are in a relatively easy group A with Hong Kong, Laos and Taiwan, so they are leaning towards the option of only drawing for UAE and Palestine to put them in two groups.

“Up to now, the Vietnam Olympic Committee has not received any notification about whether the draw for men’s football will be re-scheduled or not. We have absolutely no information about this incident,” said Mr. Tran Van Manh, Secretary General of the Vietnam Olympic Committee.

To prepare for the Asian Games, Coach Park has called up 30 players. The core of the team is still the U23 Vietnam team that created the miracle of winning the Asian silver medal earlier this year, plus a number of veterans over 23 years old who are in good form, such as goalkeeper Dang Van Lam, midfielder Nguyen Van Quyet, midfielder Do Hung Dung and striker Nguyen Anh Duc. The team will gather on July 22 to participate in a four-team friendly tournament in Hanoi with the participation of Uzbekistan, Oman and Pelestine.

Before leaving for Indonesia to attend the Asian Games, Coach Park Hang-seo will eliminate and only keep 20 members, including three people over 23 years old.

The Korean strategist said that the success of U23 Vietnam at the U23 Asian Cup put him under pressure. However, that is not a big obstacle to the upcoming work. Coach Park said: "I not only set targets for myself but also always tell the players to fight with all their might, bringing success to the country in every tournament they participate in."

The men's football tournament will take place from August 14 to September 1 in Jakarta and Palembang. The 26 teams will be divided into six groups and will play a round robin format. The top two teams in each group, along with the four best third-placed teams, will advance.