What did Coach Park and Iraq Coach say before the opening match of Asian Cup 2019?
(Baonghean.vn) - At 8:45 p.m. Vietnam time on January 7, the official press conference before the match between the Vietnamese team and the Iraqi team took place with the participation of the Vietnamese team's representative: Mr. Park Hang-seo and captain Que Ngoc Hai.
The press conference will take place at Zayed Sports City Stadium. After the press conference, the Vietnamese team will have a training session. Coach Park Hang-seo will have an official speech to the domestic and foreign press about the opening match of his journey at the 2019 Asian Cup.
A few hours earlier, at the press conference of the Iraqi team representative, coach Srecko Katanec shared that he and his students were ready to aim for victory against Vietnam: "We don't care who Vietnam is. Our biggest opponent in this group is Iran. To put it simply, we are not afraid of any opponent."
At this time, both the Iraqi team and coach Park Hang-seo's team are ready for the opening match of Group D taking place tomorrow (January 8). Asian press has ranked this confrontation as one of the 10 most exciting matches in the group stage this year. The Vietnamese team has the right to hope to create a surprise because we have always had a good chance of winning when facing West Asian representatives. Today, the first match of Group D of the Asian Cup will take place with the focus being the competition between Iran and Yemen.
![]() |
Coach Park Hang-seo. Photo: Internet |
At a press conference before the opening match of the 2019 Asian Cup against Iraq, coach Park Hang-seo said: “It will be a difficult match because Iraq is a very strong team. No one knows the result in advance, but we will try our best to achieve the best result." "We were successful at the U23 Asian Cup in China early last year, as well as the ASIAD in Indonesia and the recent AFF Cup. That gives us great confidence. Fans also expect more from the team. I know that and think the team has enough time to prepare for the tournament."
Because the majority of the Vietnamese team consists of U23 players, who have gone through a season with a very tight schedule at club and national team levels, coach Park is quite worried about their physical strength: "The fatigue of Vietnamese players is real, many have been physically exhausted when joining the national team after a long V.League season. I do not dare deny that physical strength is a concern for the Vietnamese team."
In addition, the Korean coach also talked about former fitness coach Bae: "He is a capable person, we have parted ways with him and now have a new fitness coach who is also very experienced. I don't think there is any problem in this matter". Talking about the preparation for the opponents in the next matches of the team: "We sent people to watch the Iran vs Yemen match and recorded the video. I know Yemen had many difficulties in the preparation process, but they are still a strong team. After today's match, we will meet Iran" - Coach Park Hang-seo shared.
The match between Vietnam and Iraq will take place at 8:30 p.m. tomorrow, January 8, Vietnam time.