Head coach Hoang Anh Tuan’s half-time pep talk inspires Vietnam to victory

After an eventful first which saw both teams reduced to 10 men and tied 1-1, Hoang admitted he didn’t hold back during the break.

“I am not too satisfied with today’s match,” said Hoang. “The first match is always difficult for both sides. I am only happy with the result but not the performance, especially in the first half because of the red card (for Nguyen Ngoc Thang).

“The performance didn’t match our training sessions. The red card just before halftime showed a lapse in our mental discipline.”

Understanding pressure was weighing down his players, Hoang urged them to refocus during the half-time break.

“I told them that the opponents weren’t too strong and that our performance wasn’t good, we just needed to perform like how we did in training. In the second half, we played much better and scored more goals.”

Kuwait head coach Emilio Peixe cited fatigue and inexperience as the factors behind his side’s below par performance in the second half.

“We didn’t have a good second half because I felt like the players were a little tired, but this kind of thing can happen as our players don’t have much experience in this kind of a tournament,” said Peixe.

“We need to develop the players mentally and physically. We know where we are at this moment. We competed against a team like Vietnam, who have reached the final before.”

Vietnam will face Malaysia next, while Kuwait play 2018 champions Uzbekistan.