Coach Gong: ‘I have no plans to draw Korea’

“Vietnam didn’t win. I’m sorry. Two matches have passed, we both drew, so we can’t say anything. Vietnam has one more match,” Coach Gong said in a press conference after the game at Lokomotiv Stadium. “I really appreciate the efforts of the players. They gave their best in this match.”

Vietnam joined the focus group to deal with pressure from the defending champion Korea. During this time, the Korean team held the ball 74% and finished 11 shots, but only twice towards the goal. The excellence of the Vietnamese defense, in which the pair of central defenders Thanh Binh – Viet Anh and goalkeeper Van Chuan stood out, contributed to the support of Coach Gong’s team.

After the break, Korea opened the scoring thanks to Young-wook’s shot in the penalty area. But Vietnam did not flinch, several times responded sharply. From the 78th minute, the team was outnumbered when Lee Jin-yong received a second yellow card for a foul on Nguyen Van Tung. Taking advantage of that advantage, the team increased the pressure and equalized 1-1 from the situation where Tuan Tai put the ball on the left wing for Vu Tien Long to shoot back to the high corner. This is Vietnam’s only goal-directed shot in the whole match.

“I don’t plan to draw Korea. I always encourage the players to enter the match with the aim of winning. We don’t need to draw Korea. I tell the players to challenge themselves, fight and win. “, Coach Gong said. “Korea is very strong. But Vietnamese players run more, make more effort.”

Before this confrontation, Vietnam only drew one and lost four of the five matches against South Korea at the U23 level in all competitions. The only draw At that time, the friendly nature took place on May 9, 2015 at My Dinh Stadium. This result is the first time that Vietnam forced Korea to divide points in an official tournament.

According to Coach Gong, he did not score, but 19-year-old striker Khuat Van Khang played the best. He is also not worried that opponents will find a way to lock down the expert who sparked Phan Tuan Tai – who has scored one goal and created two goals in two matches, because in the team there are many good players like Nham Manh Dung. , Minh Binh…

Regarding the secret to creating confidence in the players’ play, Coach Gong said: “They have confidence in training. I try to give them that. Before the game, I told the players that Surprise them and they did. I want them to laugh and play well.”

In the last turn on June 8, Vietnam will meet Malaysia, and Korea will decide Thailand.

Lam Tho (from Tashkent)