HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam are ready to face Japan in the third match of Group D of the Asian Games (ASIAD) 2018 in Indonesia Sunday, according to midfielder Nguyễn Quang Hải.

The match, which will be held at the Wibawa Mukti Stadium at 4pm (Hà Nội time), will decide the winner of group.

“We are ready for the game with Japan. They are very strong but we are confident to play well,” said Hải.

Hải also said that his role in the team wasn’t important. The most important thing was how he played.

“We are ready to obey the training board’s tactics for the upcoming match,” Hải added.

Hải, who shone at the AFC U23 Championship final held in China in January to help Việt Nam win the silver medal for the first time, has scored one goal for Việt Nam in this tournament.

Việt Nam and Japan both have six points and goal difference of five after two matches but the Vietnamese side top the group because of fairplay rule. Việt Nam haven’t received any yellow cards, while Japan have one.

Earlier, Việt Nam beat Pakistan 3-0 and Nepal 2-0.

Meanwhile, answering South Korean media, head coach Park Hang-seo of Việt Nam said his team would try their best to beat Japan to top Group D.

Park said Việt Nam completed their target of reaching the quarter-finals of the ASIAD, but are hungry to go further, starting with a win over Japan.

According to Park, South Korea will top Group E so Việt Nam must top Group D to avoid meeting South Korea.

Park said he didn’t want to meet South Korea early. He only wanted to face South Korea in the final. Japan and all other teams want to evade South Korea at this stage, making the final group game crucial, he said.

“I am working in Việt Nam but South Korea is my native country. If Việt Nam can’t avoid South Korea, I will still make every effort as head coach of Việt Nam,” said Park.

In other news, Việt Nam’s female football team will first meet Thailand Sunday in the Asian event and then take on Japan on August 21. — VNS