Illustrative image (Source: the-afc.com) Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Vietnam's head coach Miguel Rodrigo saidUzbekistan is a strong team and his favourite rival in the quarter-finals ofthe Asian Football Confederation Futsal Championship in Chinese Taipei today.
The Spanish trainer added that his experiencedand improved players had plans to beat the powerhouse to repeat Vietnam’ssuccess of making it to the top four in the previous tournament two years ago.
The Vietnamese squad bounced back from adisappointing loss to Malaysia in the group round to secure wins over Bahrainand hosts Chinese Taipei to finish on top of Group A.
Uzbekistan also suffered a defeat to Japan afterbeating the Republic of Korea (RoK) and Tajikistan to stand second in Group B.
In their latest meet last September, Vietnam wasdefeated 0-2 in the quarter-finals of the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Gamesin Turkmenistan.
“In the Asian Indoor Games, they won anddeserved it because they were superior. Either you win or lose; you get anexperience, but every game is different,” Rodrigo said on the afc.com.
“I believe experience is a key factor,especially in one of the key moments in a match. They are the favourites ofthis match, but we know how we need to play to win. We also need to play morethan 100 percent tomorrow, defend perfectly and play moreeffectively,” he said.
Uzbekistan’s line-up has almost no changecompared to two years ago. They build up a tactic in which captain ArturYunusov, former player of Vietnam’s champions Thai Son Nam FC, is thecentre of the team.
The Central Asian team has not created manychances to score during this tournament but they master in converting theirfree kicks into goals.
Rodrigo said Uzbekistan, which is home to goodplayers, is the title favourite this event. He and his assistants spent a lotof time to study their playing style. His players were asked to improve theirscoring skills and create pressure on the Uzbek side from the centrearea. The keys of the match would be tight defence and accurate finishes.
Vietnam also has difficulties with ChineseTaipei without their talented captain Tran Van Vu who is injured while keyplayer Pham Duc Hoa cannot take part in the coming match because of his yellowcards.
However, Rodrigo said if his players couldovercome their challenge of nervousness and play in the Vietnam spirit(referring to the U23 football team’s success recently) they would not scareany rival.
On the other side, coach Bakhodir Akhmedov wantsto reach a better result than the past.
The team has finished runners-up four times andis yet to claim the title in the 15 times they have participated. Since 2001,they have always secured a slot in the quarter-finals.
“Our experience in the past helps every time butwe need to forget about that result in Turkmenistan,” Akhmedov was quoted assaying on the-afc.com.
“Vietnam has played well and confidently, so weneed to give our best to get the win,” he added.
The former national team player also said hisplayers made some mistakes during the group phrase but in thecoming game such things should not happen again.
Captain Yusunov said his team targeted a berthin the final match so they were working hard to reach their goal.
Uzbekistan is No 27 in the world and No 6 inAsia while Vietnam, whose best result was fourth in Asian championship, is No42 in the world and No 10 in the continent.
The match of the two sides will be heldfrom 6pm on February 8 and will be aired live on bongda24h.vn and Fox Sports.
The three other quarter-final matches areLebanon vs Iraq, Japan vs Bahrain and Thailand vs defending champions Iran.-VNA
The Spanish trainer added that his experiencedand improved players had plans to beat the powerhouse to repeat Vietnam’ssuccess of making it to the top four in the previous tournament two years ago.
The Vietnamese squad bounced back from adisappointing loss to Malaysia in the group round to secure wins over Bahrainand hosts Chinese Taipei to finish on top of Group A.
Uzbekistan also suffered a defeat to Japan afterbeating the Republic of Korea (RoK) and Tajikistan to stand second in Group B.
In their latest meet last September, Vietnam wasdefeated 0-2 in the quarter-finals of the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Gamesin Turkmenistan.
“In the Asian Indoor Games, they won anddeserved it because they were superior. Either you win or lose; you get anexperience, but every game is different,” Rodrigo said on the afc.com.
“I believe experience is a key factor,especially in one of the key moments in a match. They are the favourites ofthis match, but we know how we need to play to win. We also need to play morethan 100 percent tomorrow, defend perfectly and play moreeffectively,” he said.
Uzbekistan’s line-up has almost no changecompared to two years ago. They build up a tactic in which captain ArturYunusov, former player of Vietnam’s champions Thai Son Nam FC, is thecentre of the team.
The Central Asian team has not created manychances to score during this tournament but they master in converting theirfree kicks into goals.
Rodrigo said Uzbekistan, which is home to goodplayers, is the title favourite this event. He and his assistants spent a lotof time to study their playing style. His players were asked to improve theirscoring skills and create pressure on the Uzbek side from the centrearea. The keys of the match would be tight defence and accurate finishes.
Vietnam also has difficulties with ChineseTaipei without their talented captain Tran Van Vu who is injured while keyplayer Pham Duc Hoa cannot take part in the coming match because of his yellowcards.
However, Rodrigo said if his players couldovercome their challenge of nervousness and play in the Vietnam spirit(referring to the U23 football team’s success recently) they would not scareany rival.
On the other side, coach Bakhodir Akhmedov wantsto reach a better result than the past.
The team has finished runners-up four times andis yet to claim the title in the 15 times they have participated. Since 2001,they have always secured a slot in the quarter-finals.
“Our experience in the past helps every time butwe need to forget about that result in Turkmenistan,” Akhmedov was quoted assaying on the-afc.com.
“Vietnam has played well and confidently, so weneed to give our best to get the win,” he added.
The former national team player also said hisplayers made some mistakes during the group phrase but in thecoming game such things should not happen again.
Captain Yusunov said his team targeted a berthin the final match so they were working hard to reach their goal.
Uzbekistan is No 27 in the world and No 6 inAsia while Vietnam, whose best result was fourth in Asian championship, is No42 in the world and No 10 in the continent.
The match of the two sides will be heldfrom 6pm on February 8 and will be aired live on bongda24h.vn and Fox Sports.
The three other quarter-final matches areLebanon vs Iraq, Japan vs Bahrain and Thailand vs defending champions Iran.-VNA
VNA
