Hanoi Goalkeeper Dang Van Lam regrets that the Vietnamese team lost to Iraq at the last minute but believes the team will correct their mistakes to return strongest in the second round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in Asia.
"It's a pity that we conceded a goal when there were only seconds left in the match," Van Lam said after the match. "The Vietnamese team tried their best, always having to play under great pressure from the opponent. But because the whole team showed great fighting spirit, conceding defeat in the final seconds was a cruel outcome."
At My Dinh Stadium on the evening of November 21, Iraq entered the match strongly, quickly proving their position as the strongest team in Group F with an overwhelming attack, actively competing and creating high pressure. However, the Vietnamese players calmly played close, closely followed and defended tightly. Van Lam stood out in the home team's defense with three important saves in the first half.
Van Lam in a situation where he rushed out to block the dribble of an Iraqi striker at My Dinh Stadium on the evening of November 21. Photo: Hieu Luong
In the second half, the 1993-born goalkeeper of Vietnamese-Russian descent continued to make two more miraculous saves in front of the Iraqi striker's toes. However, with only a few seconds left in the match, from Bayesh's high cross from the right wing, Van Lam rushed out a beat slower than his opponent, and was unable to block Mohanad Ali's header.
"This defeat is truly regrettable. But the whole team will try to correct our mistakes and stand up to move forward to the next matches. We trust in Coach Troussier's instructions to come back stronger in 2024," Van Lam added.
In this match, Coach Troussier continued to use many young players such as Minh Trong, Tuan Tai, Thai Son, Dinh Bac, Khuat Van Khang... According to Van Lam, being given regular opportunities in high-level competitions such as the 2026 World Cup qualifiers is a good experience for his juniors. "After such matches, they will accumulate a lot of experience for the future. If they can overcome the psychological barrier from this defeat, they will become more mature."
Main developments of the match Vietnam 0-1 Iraq.
Captain Que Ngoc Hai also regretted the last-minute defeat, but still saw positive points. "We lost, but we are very proud because the young players were given the opportunity and they deserve to be recognized," said the central defender of Binh Duong .
Despite the loss, Vietnam still finished second in the group because the two opponents Indonesia and the Philippines tied 1-1. According to Que Ngoc Hai, Vietnam is still confident that they will play well in the upcoming matches. "Through the last two matches, everyone has seen how hard we tried. With what we have shown, we are not too worried but will try to win one of the two tickets in this group to enter the third qualifying round," the defender from Nghe An added.
Duc Dong
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