The Vietnamese team train for the match against Malaysia at the AFC Asian U23 Cup. (Photo courtesy of VFF) Hanoi (VNA) — Vietnam are ready to face Malaysia on April20 in their second match at the AFC Asian U23 Cup following their opening gamewin against Kuwait.
Midfielder Vo Hoang Minh Khoasaid that the Vietnamese team overcame initial difficulties by securing a 3-1victory against U23 Kuwait,which helped alleviate a lot of pressure for theplayers.
"After the match, theentire team discussed and learned from the experience. We will try to maintainthe positive aspects and strive to capitalise on our strengths in order toachieve the best possible result in the upcoming match against Malaysia,"Khoa said.
A victory will open the door tothe quarter-finals for Vietnam.
However, Vietnam will bewithout suspended defender Ngoc Thang and they will also be missing striker DinhBac due to injury. Coach Hoang Anh Tuan will only have 18 players (excluding threegoalkeepers) available to devise a tactical plan, while the Malaysian team willhave a full squad.
The Asian FootballConfederation has appointed a refereeing team from West Asia to officiate thematch.
The main referee will be MooudBonyadifard from Iran. Bonyadifard's assistants, Saeid Ghasemi and IIdoromAlireza, will also be from Iran. Ahmed Eisa Mohamed Darwish from the UAE willbe in charge of managing the VAR team.
Referee Bonyadifard is not astranger to Vietnamese football. He officiated the match when Vietnam lost 2-4to Japan in the recent Asian Cup 2023.
Five years ago, Bonyadifardwas the referee when Vietnam won 1-0 against Malaysia in the 2022 World Cupqualifier at My Dinh National Stadium. Last year, he also officiated the matchbetween Hai Phong FC and Incheon United in the 2023/2024 Asian Cup qualifiers.
Vietnam's final group matchwill be against Uzbekistan on April 23.
The tournament will alsodetermine the Asian representatives for the 2024 Paris Olympics./.
