Vietnamese players practise in the UAE. They will play Jordan on January 20. (Photo courtesy of VFF) Hanoi (VNS/VNA) – Vietnam’s coachPark Hang-seo said his team can still progress in the AFC Asian Cup 2019 asthey prepare to face Jordan.
They claimed the place in the knock-out stagesafter other results went their way on January 17, and because of a gooddisciplinary record.
Both Vietnam and Lebanon finished the groupstages with equal points and a similar goal difference. However, it was becauseVietnam had received five yellow cards while Lebanon accumulated seven theywent through.
Park appreciated Jordan was a tough match, butsaid Vietnam could hope for a positive result. The two sides met twice in thequalification with both matches finished draws.
In their first meet in June 2017, the game ended0-0 in Ho Chi Minh City. Nine months later they drew 1-1 in Amman.
Park asked his players to focus 100 percent forthe match by watching Jordan’s videos and training hard.
They moved to Dubai on January 18 in preparationfor the game in which they will have their key midfielder Do Duy Mạnh back inaction after he was sidelined for the last match.
Coming to the tournament, Jordan were notexpected to have an easy journey as they would face defending champions Australiaand powerhouse Syria in Group B. However they made a big statement beatingAustralia 1-0 and went on to defeat Syria 2-0 before drawing with Palestine0-0. They were the first team through the second stage.
Speaking with reporters midfielder Baba AbdelRahman of Jordan said his team were not afraid of anyone, added they had onlyone target and that’s to win.
Vietnam suffered two defeats in a row, losing2-3 to Iraq and 0-2 to Iran. They came back to win 2-0 over Yemen.
"Vietnam deserve to earn a berth in theknock-out round and we should be proud that we made it. Our road was not easybut it let us know that we have to work harder," said football expert TrinhMinh Hue.
"I believe that our players are in goodshape. They might not be better than Jordan but it is the knock-out stage, soanything can happen. If we are lucky we can win," he said.
The match between Vietnam and Jordan will beginat 18:00 at the Al Maktoum Stadium on January 20 and will be live on VTV6 andFox Sports channels.-VNS/VNA
VNA
