Singapore coach: 'We did not come to Vietnam for sightseeing'
Coach Tsutomu Ogura said the Singapore team is very determined in the second leg of the semi-final, and is not coming to Vietnam for sightseeing.
At the press conference before the second leg of the ASEAN Cup 2024 semi-final on the afternoon of December 28, Singapore coach Tsutomu Ogura said: "We just arrived in Vietnam yesterday and this afternoon we had an official training session in Viet Tri. However, Singapore is trying to produce the best performance even though we cannot say what percentage of victory we will have."
When asked about the percentage of victory against the Vietnamese team, the Japanese strategist said: "We do not know this, and neither does the Vietnamese team."
Talking about Singapore having a squad with many older players, coach Tsutomu Ogura shared:
"In my squad, there are players over 30 years old and maybe this is their last tournament, but I don't care about age. All my players have the same energy, both young and experienced. Hanoi is beautiful but the Singapore team did not come here for sightseeing. And the older, experienced players can bring a lot of value, creating a good team for the return match."
Commenting on striker Nguyen Xuan Son, coach Tsutomu Ogura said he was not too concerned about any individual: “In the first leg, Xuan Son only had a few clear chances. I am not concerned about one player but plan to deal with the entire Vietnam team, which has many quality players.”
"We always have pressure. Vietnamese football fans are very interested and enthusiastic. When I was in Japan, I followed Vietnamese football and saw strong development, from fans to youth training. I hope Singapore football will have similar development," coach Tsutomu Ogura emphasized.
“I cannot say who I will pick for the return match, I can only say that Singapore needs to go on and reverse the 0-2 score. In a match, we need to focus and make efforts not just for one or two minutes but for the whole match, including extra time,” the Japanese strategist concluded.
The second leg of the 2024 ASEAN Cup semi-final between Vietnam and Singapore will take place at 8:00 p.m. on December 29 at Viet Tri Stadium, Phu Tho./.