In a friendly match, the Vietnamese team lost narrowly to Kyrgyzstan.

In their final friendly match before the 2023 Asian Cup, the Vietnamese national team lost 1-2 to Kyrgyzstan at the Al Egla training ground in Doha, Qatar.

The Vietnamese national team (in white uniforms) playing a friendly match against Kyrgyzstan. (Source: KFU)

In preparation for the 2023 Asian Cup, the Vietnamese national team played a closed-door friendly match (without spectators or media) against the Kyrgyzstan national team.

This is seen as an opportunity for Coach Troussier's team to familiarize themselves with an official match before the continental tournament begins, and also a chance for the players to showcase themselves before the French strategist finalizes the 26-player squad for the Asian Cup.

According to the original schedule, the match between the Vietnam national team and Kyrgyzstan was to take place at 6:30 PM local time on January 9th (10:30 PM Vietnam time). However, because Kyrgyzstan's matches in the Asian Cup group stage were taking place in the afternoon, they requested to change the match to 4:00 PM.

The Kyrgyzstan players started the match better than the Vietnamese team. The team from Central Asia took the lead in the 31st minute after Kojo Joel scored the opening goal. 1-0 was also the score at halftime.

Coach Troussier's team put in a strong effort in the second half and found an equalizer in the 63rd minute through Truong Tien Anh. However, Aizar Akmatov's goal in the 75th minute gave Kyrgyzstan the lead for the second time. Ultimately, Kyrgyzstan won the match 2-1.

Despite the defeat ahead of the 2023 Asian Cup, this loss wasn't too important for Coach Troussier and his players, as the goal of the match was simply for the players to gain experience and get used to the playing conditions, as well as for the coaching staff to experiment with formations and tactics.

It is known that in this match, except for Duy Mạnh who was injured and rested, Coach Troussier gave opportunities to all 29 players, including 3 goalkeepers. From there, the French coach made assessments before finalizing the list of 26 names to participate in the 2023 Asian Cup.

The 2023 Asian Cup finals will take place from January 12th to February 10th in Qatar. The Vietnamese national team is in Group D, playing Japan on January 14th, followed by matches against Indonesia on January 19th and Iraq on January 24th. According to Dan Tri newspaper, Coach Troussier's team aims to advance beyond the group stage.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/thi-dau-giao-huu-doi-tuyen-viet-nam-thua-sat-nut-kyrgyzstan-256791.html