Defender Nhu Thanh: His composure helped the Vietnamese national team win.
(Baonghean.vn) - The Vietnamese national team has achieved its goal of reaching the group stage of the 2019 Asian Cup. Our opponent is Jordan - another strong team from West Asia. Former central defender Nhu Thanh has shared his thoughts on the Vietnamese national team and their chances in the upcoming knockout round.
"Like millions of other Vietnamese fans, I am truly happy and proud that our national team has qualified for the Round of 16 of the 2019 Asian Cup. I hope that the players will do even better than our generation did 12 years ago at the 2007 Asian Cup."
A former player of The Cong believes that the current Vietnamese national team possesses something that previous generations lacked: mental fortitude.
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| As Thanh believes, the Vietnamese national team has good mental fortitude, so they can win even when they're not playing well. (Photo: Zing) |
"When you have the character, you can win even without being skillful, and when you're skilled, a more skilled opponent might not necessarily be able to overpower you. Objectively speaking, in the match against Yemen, the players didn't play particularly well. There were times when they were tense, especially at the beginning of the game."
"We made many misplaced passes and committed many fouls. However, everything changed when Quang Hai scored a spectacular goal. The Vietnamese national team had a fiery second half and deserved more than two goals by the end of the match. That's what I want to say. Even without playing well, you can still win if you have real character," shared center-back Nhu Thanh.
The Vietnamese national team just made a spectacular "narrow escape." We snatched the last spot among the top four third-placed teams from Lebanon – the team that just thrashed North Korea 4-1. They moved up to the same number of points and goal difference as Vietnam. However, this West Asian team had to concede their ticket to the next round to Vietnam simply because they had two more yellow cards than us.
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| The Vietnamese national team was not only skillful but also lucky. Photo: AFC |
Lebanon was unlucky and had to accept a bitter exit from the tournament. Clearly, the Vietnamese national team is being supported by Lady Luck. I think this is very important for the rest of the journey for Coach Park Hang-seo's team," said defender Nhu Thanh.
Assessing our chances in the upcoming match, Như Thành believes that Jordan's strength is undeniable. They have already won against two strong opponents, Australia and Syria. Especially their 1-0 victory against the reigning champions, Australia. That win speaks volumes about their superior class compared to Park Hang-seo's team.
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| Jordan is a very strong opponent, but have faith because we are very relaxed mentally. Photo: AFC |
However, according to the center-back who previously participated in the Asian Cup, Vietnam's chances are not nonexistent. We have already achieved our goal of advancing from the group stage. "Clearly, our players are in good mental condition. The Vietnamese national team is always very dangerous when playing as the underdog. Once the pressure is lifted, the players like Quang Hai, Van Duc, etc., will be even more agile."
The match between Vietnam and Jordan will take place at 6 PM (Vietnam time) on January 20, 2019. Hopefully, our team will continue to write a new chapter in history if they overcome Jordan to become one of the top 8 teams in this year's tournament.
