Center back Nhu Thanh: Courage helps Vietnam national team win

“Like millions of other Vietnamese fans, I am really happy and proud that our national team has qualified for the round of 16 of the 2019 Asian Cup. I hope that you will do better than our generation 12 years ago at the 2007 Asian Cup.”

The former player of The Cong believes that the current Vietnam national team has something that the previous generation did not have. That is bravery.

Nhu Thanh believes that the Vietnamese national team has good character so sometimes they can still win even when they are not playing well. Photo: Zing

“When you have the courage, you can win without having to be good, and when you are good, a higher-class opponent may not be able to overwhelm you. Objectively speaking, in the match against Yemen, the team did not play very well. There were times when they were tense, especially at the beginning of the match.

We passed the ball wrongly and made many mistakes. However, everything changed when Quang Hai scored a great goal. The Vietnamese team had a fiery second half and deserved to have more than 2 goals after the match ended. That is what I want to say. Even if it is not good, we can still win if we have real courage" - Center back Nhu Thanh shared.

Vietnam has just "sneaked through the narrow door" in a spectacular way. We won the last spot in the Top 4 best third-place teams from Lebanon - the team that just beat North Korea 4-1. They rose to the same point and goal difference as Vietnam. However, this West Asian team had to give up the ticket to the next round to Vietnam just because they had 2 more yellow cards than us.

Vietnam national football team is not only good but also lucky. Photo: AFC

Lebanon was unlucky and had to accept leaving the tournament in the most bitter way. Obviously, the Vietnam national team is being supported by luck. I think this is very important for the remaining journey of Mr. Park Hang-seo's team" - Center back Nhu Thanh continued.

Assessing our chances in the upcoming match, Nhu Thanh said that Jordan's strength is unquestionable. They have won against two strong opponents, Australia and Syria. Especially the 1-0 victory against the defending champion Australia. The victory said it all about their superiority over Mr. Park Hang-seo's team.

Jordan is a very strong opponent, but trust us because we are in a very comfortable mindset. Photo: AFC

However, according to this former Asian Cup center-back, Vietnam’s chances are not zero. We have achieved our goal of passing the group stage. “Clearly, our players are in a good mental state. The Vietnamese national team is always very dangerous when playing as underdogs. Once the pressure is removed, the legs of Quang Hai, Van Duc … will be even more graceful.”

The match between Vietnam and Jordan will take place at 6:00 p.m. (Vietnam time) on January 20, 2019. Hopefully, our team will continue to write a new miracle if we can overcome Jordan to become one of the 8 strongest teams in this year's tournament.