Xuan Truong: 'I want to repay my debt to the Korean goalkeeper'

In an interview on the Asian Football Confederation's website, Xuan Truong said that he knew someone in the Korean U23 team, Lee Tae-hee, because this goalkeeper used to play for Incheon. This is also the person who made Xuan Truong even more eager to defeat Korea in the opening match of the Asian U23 tournament on January 11.

“I faced Lee Tae-hee a few years ago at the U19 tournament. When we met, he showed me a picture of Vietnam being defeated 6-0 by South Korea. At that time, I just wished I could punch him. I hope this time when we meet again, I can repay my debt to him,” Xuan Truong revealed.

In addition to competing with Lee Tae-hee, Xuan Truong also wants to have a good performance against Korea to prove himself after two years of often having to sit on the bench in this country.“After two years in Korea, I have not made much progress. This time I want to show them that I can play football in Korea. I am very confident that U23 Vietnam will do something special at the U23 Asian Cup,” Xuan Truong added.

In 2015, Xuan Truong was loaned to Incheon United by HAGL. A year later, he continued to Gangwon to try his luck. However, the number of times the midfielder from Tuyen Quang played could be counted on the fingers of one hand. He said: "Korean players are extremely professional. They think and talk about football all day and that makes the teams better."

At the U23 Asian Cup finals, Vietnam fell into a tough group D. The team faced Korea (January 11), Australia (January 14) and Syria (January 17). However, Xuan Truong is confident:“I hope U23 Vietnam can do something in the final round of the U23 Asia, although I really don’t want to say anything before the tournament starts. Getting past the group stage is my personal goal, as well as the whole team’s. From this point on, the team will not say anything more. However, we have a feeling we will do something special.”