Quan Van Chuan: 'Vietnam U23 played well before being red carded'

Tien Long received a red card directly in the 22nd minute when he fouled Nihad Muhammad near the penalty area. The referee determined that the Vietnamese midfielder illegally prevented a dangerous situation that could lead to a face-to-face phase with the goalkeeper. This situation is considered a turning point that caused Vietnam to lose 0-3 to Iraq on the morning of March 23, Hanoi time.

"We played well before we received the red card, and then we lost the game," Van Chuan said after the game. "This is a lesson for us to change. The team controlled the ball well, but still missed a lot of passes."

After the lack of people, Vietnam no longer controlled and developed the ball from home as well as at the beginning of the match. Coach Troussier kept the 10-man squad until the 31st minute, before adjusting, with the withdrawal of striker Nguyen Van Truong to make room for midfielder Tran Quang Thinh to enter the field.

"Losing people makes it harder to coordinate and bring the ball to the front line," Van Chuan added. "Coach Troussier withdrew a striker, so the goal of directing the ball up the front line was no longer available, because we did not have a coordinator."

In the 10 against 11 position, Vietnam only lasted until the 45th minute, then made a mistake. Hussein Abdullah skillfully dribbled between three Vietnamese players and was fouled by Luong Duy Cuong in the penalty area. From the 11m mark, Ali Almosawe accurately opened the scoring.

At halftime, Van Chuan revealed that coach Philippe Troussier still wanted the player to be consistent with the style of controlling the ball, and then find opportunities to equalize.

However, Iraq is a strong opponent with many quality players, so Vietnam should not have the opportunity to turn around. In the second half, the West Asian team scored two more goals to make the score 3-0. Vietnam also lost another man in the first minute of compensation, as Vo Hoang Minh Khoa received a second yellow card for a foul from behind on Dhulfiqar Younis.

Vietnam will play the next match at dawn on March 26 against the UAE, the team just won the host Qatar 1-0.