Vietnam - Iran: A big challenge for Hoang Anh Tuan and his team

China and Vietnam Olympic team will have a bright chance to continue if they get points against Iran, who are rated higher, in the second match of Group B of the 19th Asian Games men's football.

* Vietnam - Iran: 6:30 p.m. today, September 21, on VnExpress.

Nguyen Quoc Viet (No. 9) scored a double to help Vietnam beat Mongolia 4-2, rising to the top of Group B of men's football at the 19th Asiad.

Iran is currently ranked 22nd in the FIFA rankings, the second highest ranked Asian team, just two places behind Japan. The West Asian country’s Olympic team does not have the prestige of its seniors, but is always highly regarded at the Asian Games, having won four gold medals and reaching the round of 16 at the most recent edition in Jakarta 2018.

In Group B of the 19th Asian Games men's football, Iran is the favorite to advance. This team has shown its strength by creating a game that is slightly better than Saudi Arabia's, and only missed out on victory when the strikers wasted good opportunities.

Coach Hoang Anh Tuan admitted that Iran is at a higher level. However, he is confident that Vietnam will get points. The new Southeast Asian U23 champion coach said before the training session on September 20: "No matter how strong the opponent is, they will have weaknesses. Iran is strong but that does not mean they will win. Why don't we dare to think about three points. I have faith that the team can do it."

Iran is not in good form at the moment. Before the 19th Asian Games, the team failed to qualify for the U23 Asian Cup finals after losing to Uzbekistan. When they went to Hangzhou to attend the Asian Games, they did not have their strongest squad. Iran only registered 17 players, including two goalkeepers, five less than other teams, due to injuries and immigration paperwork problems. In the match against Saudi Arabia, Iran used up all four substitutions, and some players showed signs of being overloaded, collapsing on the field at the end of the match.

Coach Hoang Anh Tuan said that physical strength is Vietnam's advantage. The team did not have to use all their strength in the 4-2 victory over Mongolia. In addition, the team was able to hide some of its weaknesses when the mainstays such as captain Do Sy Huy, vice-captain Nham Manh Dung or Phan Tuan Tai... did not play.

Mr. Tuan still wants the team to control the ball and coordinate small moves to launch attacks. However, doing this is a big challenge when the opponent is of a higher level. In particular, in the team meeting to review experience after the victory over Mongolia, the coach from Khanh Hoa wants the players to take advantage of scoring opportunities more.

Coach Hoang Anh Tuan also has experience facing Iran. He lost 1-3 to his opponent in the final round of the U20 Asian qualifiers and lost the ticket to the next round when he had the same six points as Iran and Australia but was inferior in terms of additional index.

Expected lineup:

Vietnam: Sy Huy, Tuan Tai, Nguyen Hoang, Duc Anh, Minh Trong, Duc Phu, Duc Viet, Dinh Bac, Quoc Viet, Thanh Nhan, Manh Dung.

Iran: Hosseini, Eslami, Fallah, Goudarzi, Jafari, Khodabandeh, Hamedifar, Mamizadeh, Motahari, Nasiri, Touranian.

Nghia Hung

Source link