Football

Striker Bùi Vĩ Hào of Việt Nam tries to get past Malaysian defender Ubaidullah Shamsul during the Group D match at the AFC U23 Asian Cup on April 20. Việt Nam win 2-0. Photos of VFF

HÀ NỘI — Good tactics and players' efforts were key for Việt Nam's quarter-final place at the AFC U23 Asian Cup, according to coach Hoàng Anh Tuấn.

They beat Malaysia 2-0, their second win, which along with Uzbekistan's 5-0 win over Kuwait in the later game on Saturday, made Việt Nam top two of Group D in Doha Qatar.

After Khuất Văn Khang's superb free-kick in the 39th minute, Tuấn switched his side to play on the counter in the second half. It led to their second goal when Võ Hoàng Minh Khoa netted from the spot kick.

“I don't know what word is best, other than 'satisfaction' about this match. The more we play the better we show," he said at the post-match briefing. "My players did a good job. They followed the tactics and were very disciplined. The score reflects exactly the nature of the match. Việt Nam deserved to win."

“As I said prior to the tournament, there are no weak teams in this group. We won but we had difficult moments in the match, especially in the last minutes. I changed my tactic a little when we switched to counter-attack to protect our win," he said.

Vietnamese supporters at the Khalìa International Stadium.

Asked about the last match against Uzbekistan, Tuấn said it was also an important match for Việt Nam. He would require players to be focused and play as well as possible because it was a chance for them to learn, sharpen their skills and improve for the future.

In his side, Juan Torres Garrido admitted Malaysia made many mistakes leading to the defeat. It was due to lack of experience.

“Overall, it was more or less the match we expected to have,” said Garrido. “We didn’t score from the chances we had and one decision changed everything, we cannot be happy with the result."

“Mistakes can happen in a game. They are still young players who don’t have a lot of experience, but of course it’s not something I like.

“Anything I say now will sound like an excuse, the results are what they are; of course we could always have better preparations.”

Việt Nam will take on Uzbekistan on April 22 to decide the group winners, while Malaysia and Kuwait will square off looking to end their campaign on a high. VNS