‘Vietnamese team aspires to surpass Southeast Asia’

“I must emphasize that the current situation in Vietnam is not good. Because many players have COVID-19, I only have 20 players left for the away match against Japan. The Vietnamese team is facing a great loss in terms of force due to injuries and epidemics.

Tomorrow’s match away from home, I understand that the Japanese team is very strong but we will try our best“, Coach Park Hang Seo shared before the match between Vietnam and Japan, taking place at Saitama Stadium at 17:35 tomorrow afternoon on March 29 (Hanoi time).

Vietnam team won 1, lost 8 after 9 matches in the third qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup. In the first leg at My Dinh Stadium, Vietnam lost 0-1 to Japan. In the last 4 matches against “Blue shirt Samurai”, the Vietnamese team lost, scoring 1 goal and conceding 7 goals.

Meanwhile, Japan won 6 consecutive matches in the third qualifying round, overcoming many strong opponents such as Saudi Arabia, Australia, and Oman to win tickets to the 2022 World Cup.

According to Coach Park Hang Seo, this is the first time that the Vietnamese team has reached the third qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup, so the players cannot immediately fill the gap in qualifications. However, the Vietnamese team always maintains its aspiration to the last matches.

“I don’t think Japan should be judged, it can only be said that they are a very strong team in Asia. Japan has good football management, good players, and the football environment is also very impressive.

It took Vietnam 60 years to reach the third qualifying round of the World Cup. We all lost the first 7 matches, then we won 3-1 at home to China. In the past 9 matches, the Vietnamese team won 1, lost 8. When meeting the top teams, there was still a big gap between us and them.

This is the first time Vietnamese players have met such strong opponents. The Vietnamese team aspires to get out of Southeast Asia so that they can grow up even more“, Coach Park Hang Seo shared.