Coach Park Hang-seo: 'U.23 Vietnam has secretly studied Korean style of play'

Responding to the press, Coach Park Hang Seo shared about the one-month preparation of U.23 Vietnam for the tournament and ended with a friendly match with U.23 Palestine in Shanghai (1-1 draw).

"The biggest obstacle is the weather in Con Son, but after a week here, my students have gradually adapted well. In Group D, the opponents are all very strong. They can all be considered candidates for the championship of the tournament.

We will try our best in each match in this tournament. Hopefully U.23 Vietnam will create something special in China," said Mr. Park.

It will not be an easy match because 2 years ago, Korea reached the final and led Japan 2-0, before losing 2-3. It is no exaggeration to say that U.23 Vietnam "went out and met a mountain".

In particular, that shameful runner-up position made the Koreans very determined this year. They practiced in secret and prepared very carefully. They even said no to the home press going to China.

No longer having a student-like squad like in the qualifying round, U.23 Korea brought a strong force to China, with many high-class names playing in Europe such as Hwang Ki-wook (Belgium) and Park Inh-yeok (Serbia).

Not to mention the squad that participated in the 2017 U.20 World Cup such as Cho Young Wook, Song Bum Keun, Lee Sang Min. Along with the pillars at K-League Classic clubs such as Yoon Seung Won (FC Seoul), Jang Yoon Ho (Jeonbuk Hyundai), Kim Kun Hee (Suwon Samsung).

Coach Park Hang-seo and his team are ready to face challenges at the AFC U23 Championship.

Regarding the opening match opponent, Mr. Park commented: “Korea is very strong. They can be a candidate for the championship. I was really worried in the first match against U.23 Korea. One difficulty is that we do not have enough information about the opponent. But the team has secretly prepared themselves to deal with the way the Korean players play. In my opinion, in the upcoming match, the U.23 Vietnam players need to be confident enough when entering the field. That is the most important thing.”

At 6:30 p.m. (Vietnam time) tomorrow afternoon, January 11, U.23 Vietnam will have its opening match in the U.23 Asian Cup finals against U.23 Korea.

"We all know that U.23 Korea is a very strong team. Compared to them in the upcoming match, U.23 Vietnam is definitely the underdog. And we will also enter the match with the same spirit. Certainly U.23 Vietnam will compete with the highest determination and effort to achieve good results," U.23 Vietnam vice-captain Do Duy Manh affirmed.