Football

Vietnamese players in a training session in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Việt Nam will play North Korea in the second match of the AFC U20 Women's Asian Cup's Group B on March 7. Photos courtesy of VFF

HÀ NỘI — Despite a big loss in the first match, coach Akira Ijiri said his Vietnamese side still had the chance to show their ability at the AFC U20 Women's Asian Cup in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

Việt Nam suffered a 10-0 defeat to defending champions Japan in the Group B opener on March 4.

The six-time champions scored a hat trick in the first half and netted seven in the second. Meanwhile Việt Nam could only claim two attempts in the 90 official minutes, but none worked.

“The result tells everything," Ijiri told reporters at the post-match briefing.

"In this tournament, Việt Nam represent the Southeast Asian region. But we faced the strongest rival, Japan, in the first match. It is a disappointing result and it was indeed a tough game. We still have two more matches and we will try our best and this is what I will convey to the team.”

Speaking to reporters, captain Lê Thị Bảo Trâm said the Việt Nam team did all they could but still conceded 10 goals because Japanese players were really strong.

"The coaching board and players will conduct review and analysis to improve our weaknesses for the next matches and hope we will have positive results,” Trâm said.

Midfielder Vũ Thj Hoa of Việt Nam (centre) seen in action against defender K. Yoshioka of Japan (left) during their Asian Cup on March 4.

On the other side, Michihisa Kano praised Japan’s mindset after their victory which placed Japan at the top of the standings, with North Korea and China having settled for a 1-1 draw in the group’s other match.

“We are in this tournament as challengers,” said Kano on the-afc.com. “The team appeared somewhat rigid at the start of the match but we gradually found our attacking rhythm and demonstrated dynamism in the second half.

“In the initial period, our strategy was to be aggressive but, unfortunately, our combinations faltered and our timing was off."

He said in the second half, the team managed to discover their cohesiveness, resulting in well-executed actions, leading to successful scoring opportunities.

Japan will next meet China, while Việt Nam, at the bottom of the ranking, will see North Korea on Thursday. VNS