Singapore coach does not blame the referee, wishes the Vietnamese team good luck in the final

The Singapore team failed to create a surprise in the rematch against the Vietnamese team in the second leg of the AFF Cup 2024 semi-final. Coach Tsutomu Ogura's students lost 1-3 at Viet Tri Stadium, thereby ending their journey at the AFF Cup with a total loss of 1-5.

After the match, Singapore coach Ogura affirmed that he was still proud of his players for trying until the last minute.

"I am proud that the whole team played well and had a high fighting spirit. They were not afraid of the Vietnamese team, but played very confidently. I am satisfied with this result. The Singapore team has improved both in terms of game and tactics, meeting the requirements of the coaching staff," emphasized coach Ogura.

Highlight Vietnam 3-1 Singapore - Second leg semi-final ASEAN MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC Cup 2024

Singapore team stopped by Vietnam in the semi-finals of AFF Cup 2024

The Vietnamese team will face Thailand or the Philippines in the final of the AFF Cup 2024. According to coach Ogura, Vietnam will play well in the final match of this year's tournament with the current quality of personnel and tactics.

"I can't talk about the final match yet because Vietnam's opponent has not been determined (the second leg of the semi-final between Thailand and the Philippines will take place tomorrow, December 30. However, I still want to congratulate the Vietnamese team for reaching the final. Vietnam has good players, good tactics and I hope they will play well in the final match," Mr. Ogura shared.

The Singapore team conceded 3 goals in this match, including 2 goals from the penalty spot. The away team had 1 goal disallowed by VAR and the referee. Later, also from the slow-motion review with the advice of VAR, the referee blew the whistle for a penalty against Singapore in the last minutes of the first half.

However, coach Ogura did not blame the referee. He commented: "Not only this match, but also in the match between Singapore and Thailand, the referee had situations where he reviewed VAR. I just want to say that the decision is the referee's, I respect it very much. As for us, in the future we need to practice more in situations like this and avoid unfortunate penalties."

Coach Ogura also said that the Singapore team cannot call up stars playing abroad because the AFF Cup is not part of the FIFA Days. "Thanks to that, the level of Singapore players playing domestically has improved. Hopefully in the next tournament (2027 Asian Cup qualifiers), I can call up more foreign players to have a cohesive squad and get better results," Mr. Ogura affirmed.

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Source: https://thanhnien.vn/hlv-singapore-khong-trach-trong-tai-chuc-doi-tuyen-viet-nam-da-tot-o-chung-ket-185241229222631069.htm