U-23 Vietnam and U-23 Myanmar: Both request to change the match time of the semi-final match

Having to play in the early afternoon of June 13 caused both the U-23 Vietnam and Myanmar teams to petition to change the match time of the semi-final.

Will Cong Phuong (10) score again like he did in the 2-2 friendly draw with Myanmar on May 22? - Photo: Q.MINH

Coach Miura gave the U-23 Vietnam players the entire day off on June 11 to recover after the 1-3 loss to U-23 Thailand in the final match of the group stage. In the morning, the whole team received a recovery massage and in the afternoon they had a complete rest at the hotel. On the afternoon of June 11, Coach Miura and head of the football delegation Duong Vu Lam went to the Singapore National Stadium to check the pitch before entering the semi-final match with U-23 Myanmar on June 13.

After checking, Coach Miura said: "The field is very beautiful. However, because the grass is only about two centimeters high compared to the sand surface, the field is a bit hard." However, the problem that gives U-23 Vietnam the biggest headache is the match time. I said that because according to the schedule that the organizing committee (OC) sent to the team in advance, the match time for the first semi-final match is 2 p.m. But according to the schedule that the BTC announced on the congress' website and sent to the media, the match time is at 1 p.m. This makes the members of the U-23 Vietnam team "confused" about the official match time. Although the Singapore National Stadium has a roof so they are not afraid of sun or rain, the U-23 Vietnam team still wants to play later because they have been used to the match time of 7:30 p.m. for the past four matches.

Vice President of the Vietnam Football Federation Tran Quoc Tuan, who is currently in Singapore, said he had discussed with the head of the Vietnamese sports delegation Tran Duc Phan about the need to propose to the SEA Games 28 Organizing Committee to change the match time to 4 p.m. (Singapore time) to ensure the professional quality of both teams. Meanwhile, Mr. Duong Vu Lam also said he had discussed with the head of the Myanmar U-23 delegation to make an official proposal to the Organizing Committee in the technical meeting before the two semi-final matches taking place this afternoon (June 12).

Mr. Lam said: “It is quite confusing to have to play so early while the second semi-final takes place at 7:30 p.m. In the match against U-23 Brunei that opened at 3 p.m. (Singapore time), we had to be on the field to prepare from 12 p.m. Now that we play at 2 p.m. (Singapore time), we have to be on the field to prepare from 11 a.m. This means the players have to have an early lunch to get on the bus to the field without having time to digest all the food, which is very unscientific.”

However, changing the match time is very difficult because according to a member of the Organizing Committee, tickets for the U-23 Vietnam - U-23 Myanmar match were sold from the morning of June 11, and the match time printed on the tickets was 2:00 p.m., so it is difficult to change. Moreover, the ticket is only for one match, so after the first semi-final match ends and the fans leave, the Organizing Committee needs time to prepare for the second semi-final match.

Replacing coach Miura (busy leading the Vietnamese team in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers in Thailand) in the friendly match that ended in a 2-2 draw with U-23 Myanmar in Quang Ninh on May 22, coach Nguyen Thanh Son took full notes of the opponent's strengths and weaknesses to report to coach Miura. Mr. Son said:

“Myanmar U-23 is a physically strong team. They coordinate well in small groups and have the striker pair Thura Shine - Naing Kaung Sat, who are fast and skillful. Compared to the friendly match with Vietnam U-23, they only made a few changes in the recent matches at the 28th SEA Games.”

In addition, Coach Nguyen Quoc Tuan was also assigned to collect video tapes of four matches of U-23 Myanmar at SEA Games 28 to watch and report to Coach Miura because the opponents' matches all took place on the same match day as U-23 Vietnam.

* On the evening of June 11, U-23 Indonesia defeated U-23 Singapore 1-0 in the final match of Group A. Thus, U-23 Indonesia won the ticket to the semi-finals to meet U-23 Thailand with the second place in the group. In the match taking place at the same time in Group B, U-23 Malaysia defeated U-23 Laos 3-1.

According to Tuoitre.vn