Coach Hoang Anh Tuan: 'Iran is strong but Vietnam will get points'
* Vietnam - Iran: 6:30 p.m. today, August 21, on MetaSports
In Group B of Asiad 19 men's soccer, Iran and Saudi Arabia are considered bright candidates for the next two tickets, and they drew 0-0 in the opening match. Vietnam took advantage of the opportunity to only have to face weak opponent Mongolia to rise to the top of the table with a 4-2 victory on September 19. In the second series of matches, coach Hoang Anh Tuan and his team will clash with Iran.
"Iran is a quality team, a strong opponent of the Asian region, with equal strength. But no matter how strong the team is, it also has weaknesses. Vietnam's goal is to get points against Iran. This is the thing. feasible," coach Hoang Anh Tuan said on the sidelines of the training session on the evening of September 20.
The Khanh Hoa military leader affirmed that Vietnam still pursues a ball control style of play. However, he predicted that the team would face many difficulties against Iran, and would not be able to hold the ball as much as in the opening match against Mongolia.
Mr. Tuan said that despite winning three points in the opening match, he was still not satisfied with the team's performance. Therefore, the coaching staff held a team meeting to learn from experience. He said: "The team must make serious adjustments. Vietnam's next opponent will be completely different from Mongolia. Iran is ranked far above us in the FIFA scoreboard, a very strong opponent. So the team needs to be careful." It's important to learn from experience and immediately fix the simplest mistakes made in the previous match."
In the opening match, despite scoring four goals, Vietnam still missed many dangerous opportunities. Meanwhile, the defense had moments of loss of concentration, allowing the opponent to score twice.
Coach Hoang Anh Tuan is not completely satisfied with his students' performance, but the important thing is that the team still has three points. Furthermore, Vietnam has not yet used all its best cards like striker Nham Manh Dung or winger Phan Tuan Tai.
Iran, meanwhile, is at a physical disadvantage when their players have to go through a tough battle with equal opponent Saudi Arabia. This team also lost players due to injuries and immigration problems, so it only brought 17 players to China, including two goalkeepers.
