Vietnamese players in training for the 2019 Asian Cup qualification match against Afghanistan (Source: VFF)Thang was speaking at a press conference prior to the match against Afghanistanin Group C, which will be organised on the neutral stadium of RepublicanCentral in Dushanbe City, Tajikistan, on March 28 night.
“We cannot afford to look down on Afghanistan, who are being coached by GermanOtto Pfister. He has grabbed remarkable results in his career. Under his reign,teams such as Saudi Arabia earned a berth in the World Cup finals. I myselfbelieve that they are currently a strong team,” said Thang.
The Vietnamese coach highlighted the strong physique and short ball playingstyle of the Afghanistan players. They have seven players competing in Germanleagues, but Vietnam still has a chance to win.
“Vietnam are in the process of rejuvenating themselves. Some of their keyplayers have left. My young players were affected by a 30-hour flight to arrivein Dushanbe, but we will do our best for a win tomorrow,” said Thang.
Captain Dinh Thanh Trung also took part in the conference on March 27.
The midfielder said it is the first time that Vietnam will play Afghanistan, astrong team. Both sides have an equal 50-50 chance of winning. He hoped thatVietnamese players could bring into play all their strong points to get theupper hand in the game.
Thang and his players had nearly three days to get familiar with the artificialgrass at the Republican Central stadium.
It is said to be an objective challenge for the Vietnamese team, as most oftheir players have not competed on artificial grass before.
The last time they played on such a surface was at the Southeast Asian Games in2015 in Singapore. However, only seven players from that team will be playingin this match.
“It is artificial, but it is not very different from real grass. I think ourplayers will be able to adjust to it. It is not a huge problem for us,” said Thang.
When asked how Vietnam would handle pressure from Tajikistan fans who would becheering Afghanistan, their neighbours, Thang said pressure from the stands wasnormal in football, and his players were used to such situations.
When asked to share his opinion in case of a loss to Afghanistan, he said itwould bring many difficulties to Vitnam, as their next rivals were the group’sstrongest team Jordan, who are expected to book their berth in the Cup’s final.
Thang said: “Jordan are the strongest team in Group C. However, in that match,we will be playing on home turf, which is a great advantage. I still believethat Vietnam, Jordan and Afghanistan are vying for the top place. It isdifficult to guess anything in football. Cambodia have showed that they haveimproved, and they may spring a surprise,” Thang said.
The match will be aired live on K channels from 9pm.-VNA
VNA
