‘Oman is not too strong for Vietnam to worry’

“In any match, in any tournament, against a strong or weak opponent, we are always stressed and worried. The match against Oman tomorrow, we are playing at home, so the fans are expecting and waiting. Even though the team is having a hard time and we don’t know the result yet, we will always focus and work hard to have the best match“, Coach Park Hang Seo admitted the pressure was on the players’ shoulders before the match against Oman in the 9th match 2022 World Cup qualifiers at 7:00 p.m. tomorrow, March 24.

The Vietnamese team had the first 3 points in the third qualifying round after a 3-1 victory over China on the 1st of the Lunar New Year. According to Coach Park Hang Seo, it is not the strength of Oman, but what worries him more than this is the situation of the force when many players are injured such as Van Duc, Tien Dung, Duy Manh, Van Lam, … in addition to 8 cases of COVID-19. The 63-year-old military leader emphasized:

“We know that the first leg match against Oman, despite losing 1-3 and knowing that Oman is higher on the FIFA rankings, but they are not too strong a team for us to worry about. However, the force of the Vietnamese team is bothering me when Van Toan, Van Lam have long-term injuries, and 8 players have COVID-19.

The lack of key players put me under pressure. It is not known if the substitute players can do the tasks of the key players. Of course, I hope they will play well to create healthy competition. Not sure how the young players will play.

As for achievement pressure, I have already answered, being a coach is always nervous, rarely comfortable. I have to try not to let the fans down. That’s the trait of a coach. So far, I have lived with such pressure. What worries me the most right now is the player’s injury and the COVID-19 epidemic“.

In the first leg, the Vietnamese team had difficulty with Oman’s strange corner kick. The West Asian team gathered a large number of players in the round of 16m50 to block the goalkeeper’s movement, causing Van Toan to go into the net to pick up the ball in the second goal. According to Coach Park Hang Seo, the Vietnamese team has trained well to fight this way of playing.

“In the first leg, we lost because of the corners. I know their kick. The players understood the opponent’s kicking style well and practiced to have a plan to resist“, Coach Park Hang Seo shared.