Vietnam ready to face Japan: midfielder Hai

The match, which will be held at the Wibawa Mukti Stadium at 4pm (Hanoi time), will decide the winner of group.

“We are ready for the game with Japan. They are very strong but we are confident to play well,” said Hai.

Hải also said that his role in the team wasn’t important. The most important thing was how he played.

“We are ready to obey the training board’s tactics for the upcoming match,” Hai added.

Hai, who shone at the AFC U23 Championship final held in China in January to help Vietnam win the silver medal for the first time, has scored one goal for Vietnam in this tournament.

Vietnam and Japan both have six points and goal difference of five after two matches but the Vietnamese side top the group because of fairplay rule. Vietnam haven’t received any yellow cards, while Japan have one.

Earlier, Vietnam beat Pakistan 3-0 and Nepal 2-0.

Meanwhile, answering the Republic of Korea's media, head coach Park Hang-seo of Vietnam said his team would try their best to beat Japan to top Group D.

Park said Vietnam completed their target of reaching the quarter-finals of the ASIAD, but are hungry to go further, starting with a win over Japan.

According to Park, the RoK will top Group E so Vietnam must top Group D to avoid meeting the RoK.

Park said he didn’t want to meet the RoK early. He only wanted to face the RoK in the final. Japan and all other teams want to evade the RoK at this stage, making the final group game crucial, he said.

“I am working in Vietnam but the RoK is my native country. If Vietnam can’t avoid the RoK, I will still make every effort as head coach of Vietnam,” said Park.

In other news, Vietnam’s female football team will first meet Thailand on August 19 in the Asian event and then take on Japan on August 21.