Defender Pham Xuan Manh is confident that the Vietnamese team can beat Indonesia in the 2023 AFC Asian Cup. (Photo baobinhduong.vn) The Vietnamese team has resumed training with a full squad of 26players, and Manh, who plays for Hanoi FC, shared his thoughts on their nextopponent.
He said: "It's crucial for us to defeat Indonesia in order tohave a chance of advancing to the next round. Personally, my goal is tocontribute by playing on the field.
"I aspire to make as much of an impact as possible. As one ofthe more experienced players on the team, I am ready to guide and mentor myteammates when the time is right."
This is the third time he has been called up to the national teamunder the guidance of French coach Philippe Troussier. Manh considers himselffortunate and has put in significant effort to learn new tactics.
"I meticulously study the tactics in every training session,whether with or without the ball. I always need to be prepared for my teammatesto pass to me," Manh said.
"On January 15, the entire team watched the match betweenIndonesia and Iraq together, in which Indonesia lost 1-3 to Iraq. I noticedthat Indonesia played with high spirit, unity, and determination.
"The strength of the Indonesian players lies in their spirit;they are not afraid of challenges. However, I personally believe that there isa lot of space behind their midfield."
The player from Nghe An province acknowledged that the matchagainst Indonesia will be very challenging and the Vietnamese team must swiftlyput aside their 2-4 loss to Japan and focus on this match.
Both Vietnam and Indonesia currently sit at the bottom of Group Dfollowing their respective defeats to Japan and Iraq. The match againstIndonesia holds significant importance for the Vietnamese team. If they wish toprogress further, Vietnam must secure a victory and obtain a favourable resultin their final match against Iraq.
In recent years, the Vietnamese team has frequently emergedvictorious when facing Indonesia. In their last six encounters, Vietnamremained undefeated against this opponent, winning three matches and drawingthree. In their most recent meeting at the AFF Cup 2022, the Vietnamese teamwon 2-0.
However, what makes the match on January 19 even more special isthat this will be the first meeting of two Southeast Asian teams at the AsianCup in 52 years, since the third-place match between Thailand and Cambodia atthe 1972 Asian Cup./.
VNA
