U23s held to goalless draw against South Korea

Stalemate: Fullback Vu Ngoc Thinh (right) in a friendly match between U23 Viet Nam and South Korea on Saturday. The match ended in a goalless draw. — VNS Photo Quang Thang

Viet Nam’s coach, Toshiya Miura, said after the match that he was very glad to play with one of Asian’s strongest teams, who played very aggressively in the match with Viet Nam. The coach said the match helped Viet Nam sharpen their skills prior to the 28th Southeast Asian Games in Singapore in June.

The 49-year-old coach said this was a friendly match, so he did not much care about the results. However, he was satisfied with his player’s performance.

Meanwhile, manager of South Korea, Shin Tae-yong, said though his team played in hot weather, the players tried their best. The two teams had very young players, but they played very well. In his opinion, Viet Nam’s playing had improved. He had hoped the match would be a chance to test his formation, however, he was not pleased with his players’ performance.

With the support of fans at the home turf, Viet Nam created several situations in which they might score goals, but they failed.

Striker Nguyen Cong Phuong, who joined the team at the end of the first half, could not help Viet Nam open the score.

Two Vietnamese players, Phi Son and Hoang Thinh, were injured during this match and had to leave the field.

Miura said he would select his players for Singapore based upon their performances in this match. He has called up 30 players, though only 21 will travel to the Games.

Also, the Vietnamese U23 team yesterday had a second friendly with the national team in My Dinh Stadium but they lost to the senior team 3-0. The U23 team will also play several matches with local teams before leaving for Singapore on May 19.

Viet Nam will play Brunei in the opener in Group B on May 29.