Vietnamese coach wary of Indonesia's immigrant strength

By Lam Thoa   October 14, 2019 | 05:46 pm PT
Vietnamese coach wary of Indonesia's immigrant strength
Vietnamese men's national football team coach Park Hang Seo at a press conference in Bali, Indonesia, October 14, 2019. Photo by VnExpress/Lam Thoa.
In Vietnam's next World Cup qualifier match, coach Park Hang-seo said Indonesia's immigrant attackers were to be watched closely.

"We will have to play the game on Indonesia's ground and the rival is now using more than a few immigrants, especially as attackers. Therefore, we will have to be very careful and pay high attention," Park said at a press conference in Bali Monday.

The clash against Indonesia is Vietnam’s third World Cup qualifier match. The first, against Thailand, ended in a goalless draw and in the second, last Thursday, they beat Malaysia 1-0.

The Vietnamese coach said that he had the chance to watch the World Cup qualifier match between Indonesia and Thailand in Jakarta last month.

In that game, Indonesia used four naturalized citizens who had migrated from other countries, he noted. "No.9, Beto Gonçalves, and No.17, Irfan Bachdim, cooperated quite well and they both focused on attacking, and Bachdim also appeared to be good at free kicks."

For the upcoming match against Vietnam, Indonesia has added one more immigrant in the team, raising their number to five. The players are originally from Brazil, Nigeria and the Netherlands.

Comparing Vietnam with Thailand and UAE, which had thrashed Indonesia 3-0 and 5-0 in the World Cup qualification round, Park said "scoring many goals is not as important as winning for Vietnam, especially when the game will take place in Indonesia."

For his part, Indonesia's coach Simon McMenemy said Indonesia has lost all three games before meeting Vietnam, and this could be a motivation for the team, because his wards have nothing to lose now.

Indonesias coach Simon McMenemy at the press conference on Monday. Photo by VnExpress/Lam Thoa

Indonesian men’s national football team coach Simon McMenemy addresses the press in Bali, October 14, 2019. Photo by VnExpress/Lam Thoa.

While Indonesia failed to score against Thailand and UAE, they were beaten 2-3 by Malaysia.

Vietnam and Indonesia have met 23 times so far. Indonesia won nine games, lost five and the rest were drawn.

For several decades now, Vietnam has never been able to beat Indonesia in an away match.

McMenemy has already beaten Vietnam once at the AFF Cup 2010, when he led the Filipino team.

But the Scottish coach does not underestimate Vietnam, saying things are different now.

For the past two years, Vietnam has made very quick progress and turned into a strong rival, he said.

Vietnam and Indonesia will meet at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, Hanoi time, in Bali.

 
 
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