Thai Son Nam of Vietnam (left picture) will play Shenzhen Nanling Tielang of China (right picture) in the quarter-finals of the AFC Futsal Club Championship on August 14. (Photo: the-afc.com) Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Thai SonNam will have to do without star player Vu Duc Tung in the AsianFootball Confederation (AFC) Futsal Club Championship’s quarter-final versusChinese Shenzhen Nanling Tielang on August 14.
Forward Tung suffereda broken toe against Naft Al Wasat of Iraq last week, ruling him outfor the rest of the tournament in Bangkok, Thailand.
The injury is a hugeloss for the Vietnamese side after their second-placed finish in last year'stournament.
Thai Son Nam advancedto the last eight with a perfect record of three wins and 15 goals.
They beat AGMK FC ofUzbekistan 3-1, Al Rayyan Sport Club of Qatar 5-1, and Naft Al Wasat 6-4to top Group B
Their Chinese rivalShenzhen Nanling Tielang placed second in Group A with two wins against EREM FCof Kyrgyzstan and Star FS Seoul of the Republic of Korea, and one loss toThailand’s Port FC.
The two sides havemet twice in the past in this tournament, with the Vietnamese winning 5-1win four years ago and drawing 2-2 in 2013.
Coach Pham Minh Giangknew his side would face challenges but believed they could win.
“We are ready to takeon Shenzhen tomorrow. We have done good job in the group stage to reach theknockout stage and we will do our best to secure a berth in thesemi-finals," Giang said.
He said apart from Tung’sabsence he would have his top players for the match.
“We don’t have anyoneelse injured apart from Vu Duc Tung. We have a day's rest and that helpsmy players recover well and they are in good physical condition for thebig game tomorrow,” he said.
On the other side,Shenzhen Nanling Tielang head coach Jurandir Azeredo admitted his team areunderdogs.
“We are happy toreach the knockout stage of the competition in a group where not many expectedus to qualify. I want to thank my players for the commitment and dedication towin the games," Azeredo was quoted as saying on afc.com.
“The match is goingto be a very difficult test for us as Thai Son Nam are the favourites to win.They are the 2018 finalists.
“I hope we play agood game against the Vietnam team and achieve a positive result. Of course,dreams are possible and I believe we can beat them,” he said.-VNS/VNA
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