Vietnamese fans had to wait until the very last minute to see their team beat Indonesia in a hard-fought group K game.
"We were lucky today. Although we won, as the head coach, I’m not happy with our style of play. First, the players lacked teamwork. Second, they didn’t fulfill their role on the field. In general, this game showed that we were not well prepared for this tournament," Park said.
Park then reiterated a theme that he has been harping on these days - lack of time to prepare.
"The players only had one week to train. There was not enough time for them to understand the tactics. We needed more time for the players to know their role and follow the tactics carefully.
"Although most players in the team are playing in V. League 1, they had been benched frequently and this affected their form."
Park said he will try to find the proper tactics to face Thailand in the next game, despite having just one day to prepare for the match.
Indonesian head coach Indra Sjafri congratulated Vietnam for the win.
"This was a very interesting game. Indonesia had Vietnam on lock, but couldn’t maintain it until the last minute. The players got 90 percent of the strategy right. I have nothing to blame them. Congratulations Vietnam, I hope you can make it through this tournament. For Indonesia, having lost two matches and got disqualified is not a good result at all, but we can’t stop," Sjafri said.
Indonesia head coach Indra Sjafri in the post-match press conference Friday night. Photo by VnExpress/Xuan Binh |
Indonesia will have to wait another two years for a chance to fulfill their dream of playing the AFC U23 Championship for the first time.
Vietnam will get through the qualifiers if they beat Thailand in the last game. Losing or drawing to Thailand will put Vietnam in a situation where they will have to wait and hope that they are among the best second-placed teams.
Thailand is currently on top of group K with two wins and 12 goals scored, beating Brunei 8-0 and Indonesia 4-0.
The game between Vietnam and Thailand will kick off on March 26 at 8 p.m. at the My Dinh National Stadium.
In the last edition of AFC U23 Championship, Vietnam did not just qualify, they surprised fans by beating more fancied teams and making it to the final, where they lost 1-2 to Uzbekistan.