Midfielder Nguyen Duc Viet: I learned a lot from my senior Dinh Xuan Tien

After the 4-1 victory in the opening match of the U23 Southeast Asian tournament, coach Hoang Anh Tuan and his team returned to practice. Speaking to the media before the practice session, midfielder Nguyen Duc Viet said: "After the opening match against the U23 Laos team, coach Hoang Anh Tuan encouraged and reminded the whole team to quickly rest and focus on recovering to continue preparing for the next match."

Talking about the recent match, midfielder Hoang Anh Gia Lai shared: ''The first match is always difficult. The whole team was not focused and not connected with each other. We need to try harder. The coaching staff encouraged the players to try to overcome the situation so that they can improve. Maybe tomorrow the whole team will meet and come up with the most reasonable strategy.''

The midfielder born in 2004 added: ''There is not much difference between the players because the whole team has been practicing together for a while. Harmony will be a matter of time''.

Duc Viet also admitted that the first half of the opening match at the U23 Southeast Asian tournament was not good: "The performance in the first half of the opening match was not good because the whole team was not united and in sync. We will improve in the next match."

Many fans believe that in the match between U23 Vietnam and U23 Laos, coach Hoang Anh Tuan's players still did not meet expectations. Duc Viet shared: ''At least each player tried their best. I personally do not care about the opposing opinions. I focus on training to be able to contribute my best to the national team''.

When asked about the performance of his senior Dinh Xuan Tien, Nguyen Duc Viet said: ''I learned from Xuan Tien about being calm and mature for his age. I will try to learn more and improve from him. We also talk and share a lot with each other''.

Vietnam U23 played two group stage matches every two days, Quoc Viet said that this affected the players' physical strength: ''The frequency of matches greatly affects their physical strength. Therefore, we have to eat well, rest and recover. The whole team has set goals before the tournament and will try to reach the final match''./.