Coach Park Hang-seo: 'I had planned to ambush South Korea from the 60th minute'

In a press conference with Vietnamese media in the hotel lobby in Bogor, Indonesia at 11 am today, August 30th, Coach Park Hang-seo proactively began by saying: "Before every match, I always have to do one important thing: check the players' form, especially their health. After that, we assess the situation and the opponent's condition to build a strategy. During that process, there will be many different opinions from my assistants. I will listen to them all and then give a final conclusion along with my own thoughts."

Regarding the match against South Korea, I've already spoken to the players. This match is between us and the time of the game. We all know our opponents have excellent players. But based on the situation of the Vietnamese players and the tactical calculations, I've planned to defeat South Korea. Specifically, I want my players to hold their ground in the first half, then make personnel and tactical adjustments to launch a surprise attack and secure the victory from the 60th minute onwards. I've calculated everything very carefully. At that point, the opportunity will surely come. That's why I wanted to save Van Quyet for the second half. Before the match against Syria, he was exhausted. But we conceded a goal too early, so I had to bring Van Quyet on immediately."

Coach Park Hang-seo couldn't hide his sadness at the defeat to South Korea when he spoke to the Vietnamese media in the hotel lobby in Bogor, Indonesia at 11 am today, August 30th. (Photo: [Image caption]Duc Dong.

Prior to the semi-finals, Vietnam had not conceded a single goal in five matches. However, against South Korea, Coach Park Hang-seo's team conceded a goal to Lee Seung-woo just seven minutes after kick-off. The early goal put Vietnam in a difficult position. Despite pushing forward in attack, they conceded two more goals in the 28th and 55th minutes. Vietnam only showed improvement after Minh Vương scored to reduce the deficit to 1-3 in the 70th minute. Several more opportunities were created, but Coach Park Hang-seo's team failed to score, and had to watch their opponents advance to the final.

After losing 1-3 to South Korea, Vietnam couldn't continue their dream of reaching the final of the 2018 Asian Games men's football tournament. However, coach Park Hang-seo wants the entire team to focus on the bronze medal match at 3 PM on Saturday, September 1st. "I met with the whole team and, along with the doctors, checked the players' health. It's good that no one is injured. Van Hau and Dinh Trong have some minor issues, but nothing significant. Today, the players who played in the semi-final will do recovery training with the fitness coach. The most important thing right now is for the whole team to recover mentally. This morning I noticed the atmosphere in the team was somewhat subdued; everyone was sad because of the semi-final loss. I told the whole team that Vietnam still has one more match, and everyone must cheer up. We must repay the love and support of the fans, whether it's a silver or gold medal, we must at least win a bronze," the South Korean coach shared.

Coach Park Hang-seo left all three of his Korean assistants at Pakansari Stadium to film and gather information about the UAE, Vietnam's opponent in the bronze medal match. (Photo:)Duc Dong.

Vietnam's opponent in the bronze medal match is the UAE, who advanced from the group stage by finishing fourth among the best third-placed teams. They then successively defeated Indonesia in the round of 16 and North Korea in the quarterfinals, both through penalty shootouts after draws in regular and extra time. In the semi-finals, the team from West Asia lost to Japan 0-1.

"I watched the UAE's semi-final match on TV. My assistants have also collected all the video footage and information about them. This afternoon, we will meet to analyze this opponent. But generally speaking, having reached the semi-finals, we cannot underestimate any opponent, because each team has its own characteristics. The UAE generally plays a versatile style; they can play in a 4-4-2 or 4-2-3-1 formation, with wing players who are fast and good at breaking through defenses. However, I noticed that in the second half of the match against Japan, the UAE players' physical condition deteriorated significantly."