Thailand coach: 'Xuan Son is the difference of the Vietnam team'

Coach Masatada Ishii of the Thai team commented on the 1-2 loss to the Vietnamese team in the first leg of the 2024 ASEAN Cup final: “Everyone sees that Xuan Son has very good quality and today, Thailand made some mistakes that helped him score.”

Evaluating Xuan Son further, coach Masatada Ishii said: “This striker is the difference for the Vietnamese team compared to the friendly match in September at My Dinh. In the previous match, we won and Vietnam did not have Xuan Son. Now they have him."

Regarding the referee's decisions in the match, the Japanese strategist stated his opinion: "The referee's decisions are something I cannot change. I respect the decisions that have been made."

In the first leg of the semi-final against the Philippines, the Thai team also lost 1-2. Coach Masatada Ishii affirmed that it cannot be compared with the loss to the Vietnamese team on the evening of January 2 because of the different nature and developments.

"If we compare the two losses with the same score of 1-2, the first leg of the semi-final in the Philippines and the first leg of the final in Viet Tri today, the situations were different. In the first match, we lost in the last minute, but today, the team scored an equalizer," said the captain of the Thai team.

With a 1-2 loss in the first leg, Thailand still has a chance to turn the tables in the return leg of the final at home. Coach Masatada Ishii said he is not concerned with the statistics of Thailand losing at Viet Tri Stadium after 27 years, and now losing to the Philippines after 52 years.

“I don’t pay too much attention to statistics. I just focus on improving the team and aiming for the second leg of the final,” coach Masatada Ishii concluded./.

Hai Hoang