Preview – Play-off 2nd leg: Vietnam – Australia
Quang Ninh: Australia may be five goals to the good in their bid to qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, but head coach Ante Milicic insists they will leave nothing to chance in Wednesday’s qualifying play-off second leg against Vietnam at Cam Pha Stadium
A dominant display on home soil last Friday put the Matildas within touching distance of a second successive Olympic qualification, with only a calamitous form reversal able to threaten the world number seven’s place in the Tokyo 2020 draw.
But Milicic, known as a meticulous planner, is adamant last week’s result doesn’t change a thing for his side as they aim to put the finishing touches on a successful campaign.
“We put the result aside. It’s only half-time in the tie against the Vietnamese team,” said the former men’s national team assistant.
“We’re just looking to have a professional performance and make sure that we maintain high standards, focus on our own playing style and hopefully get a positive result that takes us to the Olympics.”
“My job as a coach is to always focus on my own team. We know that Vietnam is a very skilful team, a very well organised team. We saw that also in the game they played against Korea Republic and Myanmar. They did well to get to this stage. It’s an opponent that we respect.
“We know that tomorrow will be a difficult game, particularly on that playing surface. Make no mistake, we’re not taking the opposition lightly and we’ll be well prepared to put on a good performance tomorrow.”
While Australia’s mentality remains the same, one factor which may change their approach is the Cam Pha Stadium pitch, which is in stark contrast to the bowling green which the Matildas enjoyed 70 percent of possession on in Newcastle last Friday.
Milicic said he would wait until after Australia had trained on the pitch before considering any adjustments but said, in any event, his side would benefit from the experience of playing outside their comfort zones.
“Obviously the playing surface was what it was in Newcastle, so we’re very fortunate that we get this session on it today for the girls to feel comfortable with it, “ Milicic declared.
“We’ll evaluate the situation after that, but in the end it’s another example of playing in Asia, where we need to adapt to the conditions and in the end there’s no excuses from our end. We’ll look to put on a good performance no matter what the pitch is.”
While Australia are very much looking forward to another shot at an elusive Olympic medal, Vietnam come into the second leg aware that a significant gap remains between themselves and Asia’s best teams.
Head coach Mai Duc Chung is aiming to prepare the next generation of Vietnamese players by exposing them to matches against top level opposition, with teenagers Luong Thi Thu Thuong and Ngan Thi Van Su both likely starters on Wednesday.
While the loss in Newcastle left Vietnam’s Olympic hopes all but dashed, Chung sees a bright future ahead for his side, and said the 5-0 defeat was an improvement on losses from years gone by.
“I know we lost 5-0 in the first leg,” he said. “However, in my opinion, that’s not such a bad result, because in the past we lost eight or nine goals because Australia is a very strong team.
“This result is not bad, and I can see the development of the players and see their effort ahead of this match.
“It’s not only this match that I want to use younger players. I tried to use young players in the previous match – the first leg of this play-off.”
“Also, in this second leg, I will continue to use younger players because I want every member of the team to have the opportunity to play, to develop and learn from the experience.”
“In this Olympic tournament, maybe Vietnam only has tomorrow’s match left, and my squad understands the gap between the two teams. We are focused on creating opportunities for players to learn from the experience, however, we are playing at home, so we still want to score, and we still want a better result compared to the first leg.”
While Australia enjoyed the backing of more than 14,000 fans in the first leg, Wednesday’s match will be played behind closed doors as a precaution aimed at reducing any risk regarding the ongoing COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak.
VIETNAM vs AUSTRALIA
Venue: Cam Pha Stadium, Quang Ninh
Kick-off time: 1800 hours (UTC+7)
