Coach Park: If the referee decides like that, we must obey.

Entering the press conference room after the match, Coach Park shared: "This is the first time Vietnam has reached the final qualifying round, while the opponents are too strong, have participated in the World Cup finals many times and are all in the top group in Asia", Coach Park commented. "The players have implemented the right tactics, achieving almost all the effectiveness. The level is not too different, but we are at a disadvantage in terms of physique and physical strength. That is the difference. In the losing goal, if the players chose a better position, Vietnam could have avoided the goal".

Coach Park entered the press conference room with a rather sad mood. Photo: Hai Hoang

Against a highly rated opponent, Vietnam still played steadily, not too inferior and even created clear opportunities. One of them was Nguyen Phong Hong Duy's shot from outside the penalty area that hit Ryan Grant's hand. After careful consideration and review on the VAR screen, the referee refused to award Vietnam a penalty.

"Let's go back to the Saudi Arabia match, when Vietnam was awarded a penalty. I think VAR handled it correctly that day, but increasing it to a red card was too harsh," Coach Park commented. "In this match, the referee watched VAR many times, and I think they were right. Maybe the referee thought the Australian player did not do it on purpose, so he decided not to award Vietnam a penalty. We have to obey."

The Korean coach also shared about Cong Phuong's absence. He said that in August, Cong Phuong was busy because his wife gave birth. "After that, I suggested calling him up, but the Covid-19 situation was complicated, flights from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi were suspended, so he could not fly" - Coach Park shared and said that Cong Phuong will join the team from September 9 to prepare for the two matches against China and Oman.