Coach Park Hang-seo is not satisfied with the defense after losing to Iraq

Facing an opponent that was considered stronger before the match, the Vietnamese players had a very good performance to twice take the lead against the opponent from West Asia.

However, mistakes in defense as well as the timely brilliance of the opponent's brightest star helped the Iraqi team have a hard-fought victory over the Vietnamese team.

In the post-match press conference, coach Park Hang-seo said: "Although we lost today, I think the players played very well, played to their full potential. I think with Iraq's higher physical and technical level, the Vietnamese team played not badly. I regret the final loss from Iraq's free kick, but I think the Vietnamese team played very well, with great fighting spirit, Vietnamese spirit."

Coach Park Hang-seo was not satisfied with the defense in this match. Photo: Sport5

Talking about the mistakes in the match, the Korean coach was not satisfied with the defense: "We allowed them to have free kicks and score goals, some of our players played very unfocused, and I could see the goalkeeper (referring to Dang Van Lam) was not in the right position. We will practice more on this issue."

"Regarding the next match, the team's plan is to get 1 point against Iran because they are the top candidate for the 2019 Asian Cup championship..After today, I will study them more carefully. The Vietnam team has prepared very well and we want to do something against Iran" - the Vietnam team coach answered when asked about the plan for the upcoming match.

Speaking about the referee, coach Park Hang-seo refused to criticize: "I don't want to talk about the referee today. The two teams can see the match in different ways. Iraq performed very well, they lost the ball at times and conceded a goal but got 3 points in the last minute. Iraq deserved to win today."

When asked about the brightest star of the Vietnam national team, Quang Hai, when this player did not score in today's match, coach Park said: "Quang Hai did not score but he is a very important factor. Today Quang Hai did not put his name on the scoreboard but he left a strong mark on the team's playing style. Hopefully Hai will score in the next match," coach Park shared.

Another reporter asked Coach Park Hang-seo how he felt about participating in the Asian Cup for the first time. He replied: "The 2019 Asian Cup is the biggest tournament in Asia, and I am very proud to participate in this tournament, but I have participated in the World Cup twice. I am not afraid or pressured about the Asian Cup."