VN, Lebanon meet in "08 qualifier

It will be the second time the two sides have met in recent years. Three years ago the national squad lost to their rivals 0-2 in the 2006 World Cup”s qualifiers.

In FIFA”s latest ranking, Viet Nam are placed 135th, while Lebanon are 124th. Aside from that coach Mai Duc Chung said he knew little about the Lebanese team.

Chung is temporarily replacing head coach Alfred Riedl who is returning to Austria for kidney surgery.

“We just know they are a strong team with better fitness levels and strength and have performed well in the past,” said Chung.

“Their playing style is similar to European teams. Their technique and experience will be key to their success. But I do not know how strong they really are, or how they differ from teams like Iran, Iraq and Bahrain.”

Lebanon”s football governing body is one of only a few federations around the world not to have an official website.

Neither did Lebanon take part in December”s Asian Games (ASIAD) and they withdrew from last August”s Asian Cup when war broke out in their country. They have had only one game since then in which they drew 1-1 with Kuwait.

Chung said he had a video recording of Viet Nam”s game against Lebanon three years ago, when the Vietnamese were under the coaching of Brazilian Edson Tavares.

According to language assistant Tran Van Hiep, who watched the match, Viet Nam in 2004 played tit for tat with Lebanon but conceded two goals in the last ten minutes of the game due to their lack of speed and experience. However, Chung believes his team has a chance to revenge that loss.

“It will be difficult for Viet Nam to win the game but in football anything can happen. But I, my coaching board and the fans, realise that we will have to strive to do our best.

“They are better than us but we are playing on home ground and have great support from thousands of fans. We will get a good result if our young players do not get over excited and take full advantage of the chances they get,” Chung said.

“Up against such a strong rival, Viet Nam will be on the counterattack because we are weaker than them. The whole team will play in defence and launch attacks when able. We are looking at ways to resist Lebanon”s long- and high-ball game.”

Adopting a counterattack style of game, Viet Nam scored a goal in their match against Bahrain during ASIAD.

For this match, talented strikers Le Cong Vinh and Phan Thanh Binh, who were sidelined in the game against Afghanistan on February 14, will be back in the side.

Vinh is the only Vietnamese team member to have played in the 2004 match.

“The two will be in the main line-up and will have to convert any chances they get into goals. Therefore we will need to strengthen the mid field in order to supply them with plenty of ball,” said Chung.

But Chung is still worried about his young team”s lack of international experience.

In the last two days of training at the National Sports Training Centre 1 in Ha Noi, the coach told his players to train hard and not to be intimidated by stronger opponents.

He also called on his players to work on their penalty kicks. Following the retirement of Vo Hoang Buu, who was an expert at tacking penalties, Viet Nam have failed to find a suitable replacement.

That worry was compounded at the recent Asian Football Federation (AFF) Cup when captain Nguyen Minh Phuong missed from the penalty spot in a match against Laos. In the semi-final against Thailand, Thanh Binh missed a penalty, while, striker Nguyen Anh Duc missed in the team”s last game against Afghanistan.

“Viet Nam do not have an expert penalty shooter. Our players need time to practise because a single penalty can change the outcome of a game,” said Chung.

However, Binh is confident he won”t miss next time.

“The penalty miss in the AFF Cup made me sad. I let down the home fans. Next time I am asked to take a penalty I will be ready,” he said.

“Lebanon are strong contenders in every aspect of their game, but to me they are just the next opponents and I will try my best when I pull on the national jersey.”

Lebanon have made the names of their 18-man squad public. The youngest player is aged 20.

Coach Emile Rustom was quoted in an e-newspaper as saying that his players were not coming to Viet Nam for a holiday.

“Despite having to travel a long way to Viet Nam and playing on unfamiliar ground we are determined to repeat our victory of three years ago. We are well prepared,” said Rustom.

The two teams yesterday left for Nam Dinh to practise ahead of their qualifying match.

VNS