AFC U23 qualifiers: Coach happy with Brunei win, Indonesia’s next
Park Hang-seo lost no time in focusing on the next match against Indonesia after Vietnam beat Brunei 6-0.
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| Coach Park Hang-seo in the post-match interview of Vietnam vs. Brunei game in Hanoi Friday night. Photo by VnExpress/Giang Huy |
In its first group K game on March 22, Vietnam thrashed Brunei 6-0, dominating throughout the match. Coach Park Hang-seo was happy with the result although Brunei is the weakest team in the group.
"I’m satisfied with this victory although the team is still missing something. The best thing was six goals scored by six different players," Park said.
Vietnam scored three goals in each half of the match, two of them from penalties.
Brunei's coach Stephen Ng Heng said he was prepared for the defeat.
"Vietnam is a leading team in Asia. We've played with all we had. My players have followed by instructions successfully, but they could not counter Vietnam's power. I'm sad but not surprised by the result."
This win helped Vietnam temporarily top group K, followed by Thailand, who beat Indonesia 4-0. Although people consider the match between Vietnam and Thailand as the decisive one for the top spot, Park stayed focused on the next opponent, Indonesia.
"I’m not thinking about Thailand at the moment. Right now, all I want is to be well-prepared and try the best to beat Indonesia in the next game," Park said.
Park sent two assistants to watch the game between Thailand and Indonesia, and attended the second half himself.
"Thailand and Indonesia have had so many changes since the AFF U22 Championship. There were four changes in Indonesia squad, while Thailand had 15. Indonesian players have good skill and great passing ability. But Thailand showed how well prepared they were. They have great individuals, great team work as well as tactics," he added.
Vietnam will play Indonesia on March 24 and Thailand two days later. Both games will kick off at 8 p.m., Hanoi time.
In the 2018 edition of U23 AFC Championship, Vietnam beat strong teams on their way to the final and finished as runner-up, losing 1-2 to Uzbekistan in the last game.
