Vietnam futsal team coach: 'There is a plan to defeat Uzbekistan'
Mr. Miguel Rodrigo believes that Uzbekistan is the favorite but Vietnam has enough ability to cause a surprise in the quarter-final match of the Asian futsal tournament taking place in Taiwan today.
*The match takes place at 6:00 p.m. Thursday, February 8, Hanoi time.
“Uzbekistan are obviously the favourites. They have twice finished as runners-up in the Asian Cup and are favourites this year,” said coach Miguel Rodrigo. “Uzbekistan’s strengths are their ability to defend tightly at home, wait for counter-attacks and execute set-pieces well. It is very difficult to get close to their goal.”
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Vietnam futsal team wants to repeat the miracle of reaching the semi-finals like two years ago. Photo: AFC. |
Uzbekistan lost 2-4 to Japan, dropping to second place in Group B and meeting Vietnam in the quarterfinals. This was exactly what coach Miguel Rodrigo wanted as he wanted to avoid Japan. Vietnam started this year's tournament with a 1-2 loss to Malaysia but won two consecutive victories over Bahrain (2-1) and Taiwan (3-1) to take first place in Group A.
“Uzbekistan do not create many chances but they always take advantage of them. We need a good goalkeeper to stop them. The team will have to improve their finishing and put pressure on the opponent from midfield. The key to the quarter-final is to defend well at home and convert chances into goals. If they do well, Vietnam can beat Uzbekistan,” coach Miguel Rodrigo revealed about how he prepared for the quarter-final.
Despite finishing the group stage as group winners, the Spanish strategist was still dissatisfied with his players' performance. He said they were poor at taking advantage of opportunities, leading to constant tug-of-war with their opponents.
In today's match, Vietnam suffered a big loss in terms of personnel when Duc Hoa was absent due to a penalty card. This tournamentCaptain Van Vu was injured so he could not attend.
