Vietnamese players practice for the Asian Cup 2019 at the multi-purpose Khalifa bin Zayed Stadium stadium in UAE (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – Yemen media have said their teamis less likely to beat Vietnam in their critical match on January 16, theresult of which will decide who might have the opportunity to enter the ongoingAsian Cup 2019’s knockout stage.
Rai Al Yemen website said Yemen must defeat Vietnam as it isthe only chance for them to pass the group stage as one of the top fourthird-place teams, describing this as a “mission impossible”.
Vietnam are strong, it said, adding that the team causedmany troubles for both Iran and Iraq in previous matches.
The 26 September newspaper echoed the view, pointing to thefact that Yemeni players have not been well prepared for the Asian Cup 2019. Itsaid the chance for the team to win is very small, if not to say it exists onlyin theory.
Vietnam is among the most progressive in Asia lately, thepaper stated, expressing hope that Yemeni footballers will do their best.
Yemen goalie Saoud Al Sowadi said his team is not wellprepared for the tournament. However, the national championship was good, so theoverall performance of the national team was fine.
Yemen consider its presence at the Asian Cup 2019 a successand do not aim for high places, the player said, adding he expected his team todo well in the upcoming match against Vietnam.
After their earlier matches in Group D, both squads ended upwith no point, with Vietnam getting -3 and Yemen -8 in goal difference. To havea chance to advance to the next round, they need to win and score as many goalsas possible.
So far, 12 teams have made their entry to the knockout stage,which are the host United Arab Emirates (UAE), Jordan, China, the Republic ofKorea, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Japan, Uzbekistan, Bahrain and Thailand.-VNA
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