Coach Park Hang Seo: "The Vietnam U23 team can do better."
(Baonghean.vn) - Speaking at a press conference after the disappointing 1-2 defeat against South Korea U23 in their opening match at the AFC U23 Asian Championship, Coach Park Hang Seo expressed considerable satisfaction.
Vietnam U23 took the lead thanks to a goal from Quang Hai but had to accept a 1-2 defeat against a superior opponent. Both goals conceded by Coach Park Hang Seo's team came as a regrettable loss. Nevertheless, it was still an acceptable performance from Vietnam U23. And that is why Head Coach Park Hang Seo was satisfied with his players.
Coach Park Hang Seo said: “The Vietnam U23 team scored the first goal, but unfortunately, we still lost. In all the goals that the Vietnam U23 team conceded, our defense made some mistakes, and that's why we lost. However, overall, all the players played well and they did well what I asked them to do. It was the first match, so the Vietnam U23 players didn't have the best confidence yet, and I think they can do better.”
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| Vietnam U23 scored a precious goal but were unable to protect their lead. Photo: AFC |
On the opposing side, the head coach of the South Korean U23 team stated that this was not yet the match where his players were at their best. Coach Kim Bong-gil shared: "This was our first match, and it's always difficult. We conceded a goal in the first half, but we scored two goals in the match. In the end, we still won. I didn't ask my players to rush against Vietnam U23; they followed the head coach's instructions. Therefore, there's no need to rush in our journey to conquer this tournament."
Highlights of Vietnam U23 vs South Korea U23
(Baonghean.vn) - Despite surprisingly scoring first in the match against U23 South Korea with a spectacular goal from Quang Hai, U23 Vietnam could not withstand the strength of the team that is the reigning runner-up of the 2018 AFC U23 Championship.
Having lost their first match, Vietnam U23 are temporarily ranked 3rd in the standings because in the previous matches in Group D of the AFC U23 Asian Championship, Syria U23 were defeated by Australia U23 with a score of 1-3. And if they want to keep their hopes of advancing alive, Vietnam U23 will face a decisive match against their direct competitor, Australia, in 3 days.
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| Table D standings after the first round of matches in the 2018 AFC U23 Asian Championship. |