“Many U23 Vietnam players will push their seniors to the bench”

The Vietnamese team held Jordan to a 1-1 draw thanks to the only goal scored by veteran striker Anh Duc. Xuan Truong and his teammates received many compliments despite having to travel 16 hours, play on away ground and only have 2 days of training.

Evaluating the performance of the Vietnamese team, coach Pham Minh Duc affirmed: “Mr. Park Hang-seo’s team still maintains the fiery spirit and playing style of the U23 Vietnam team. They even operated that playing style with a stronger force. Because compared to the U23 team, the team has better height, higher level, everything is superior.”

“Vietnam’s level is still lower than Jordan’s, but the overall performance is quite good. The team scored 1 goal and got 1 point away from home against a strong opponent, which is great,” the former head coach of Hanoi FC continued.

Talking about the strong rejuvenation of the team, Coach Minh Duc analyzed: “Not only now, since Mr. Huu Thang was still in charge, many young players have joined the team and have had a starting position. Right now, at many clubs, the older players are not as good as the U23 Vietnam players. They all have very good skills. It is normal for them to push their senior players to the bench.”

The most impressive young player in last night’s match was Xuan Manh. The SLNA right-back started for the national team on his 22nd birthday. He moved forward and back smoothly, and also made an assist for Anh Duc to score.

The former head coach of Vietnam U21 said: “I used to coach Xuan Manh at the International U21 Tournament. I still follow him and see that Xuan Manh is improving every day. Dinh Trong and Duy Manh are needless to say. Even Tien Dung - who rarely plays because Viettel's First Division has not started yet, is also playing well. Young players playing well like this is very good news for the future of the Vietnam team.”

After this match, the Vietnamese team has officially ended the 2019 Asian Cup qualifying campaign with 10 points, 4 draws, 2 wins. The team will aim for 2 major tournaments: the AFF Cup 2018 at the end of the year and the 2019 Asian Cup finals in January next year.