Manager Toshiya Miura has urged Vietnamese players to practice on their straight shots to prepare for their match against Macau today (March 31) during the AFC U23 Championship qualifier in Malaysia.

Long shots: Vietnamese players walk off the field after their match against Japan during the AFC U-23 Championship qualifier on Sunday. They have practiced hard for their match against Macau in the last Group I encounter today in Malaysia.

During most of their practise session yesterday, the players trained to manage the ball obstacles during passes with high speed before netting the target from a distance of 20m.

This was one of the exercises done to ensure that Viet Nam side could score numerous goals against Macau during the last match of the Group I.

It was not a surprise that Miura would use his best players for the decisive game. However, the Japanese coach could not pick his favourite striker Vo Huy Toan, who had suffered a leg injury last week.

After a test yesterday, doctors said Toan was recovering well, but could not be part of the team today.

Toan had scored a goal during Viet Nam’s 2-1 win over hosts Malaysia on Friday.

Substitute Pham Duc Huy will replace him to guard the left wing of the Vietnamese team. As per the rules, the 10 group winners and five best second-placed teams would join hosts Qatar during the final round.

The only way for Viet Nam to advance is to beat Macau with a lot of goals and then await the results of the other group matches.

Miura said Viet Nam had to be really careful because Macau have shown with their formance against Malaysia on Sunday that they are no pushovers.

After losing to Japan 0-2 on Sunday, Viet Nam are at a disadvantage with only three points and a goal difference of -1.

The team are temporarily at the No 9 spot among the nine second-placed teams. The current top five are Indonesia, Yemen, Uzbekistan, Thailand and Myanmar. They all have six points each and a good goal difference.

On the Macau side, coach Tam Iao San revealed that his team had recruited student players, who have no competitive experience. The tournament was a chance for them to improve their skills.

In fact there are several players, who are competing in their national championship Liga de Elite, such as goalie Ho Man Fai, defender Man Chan, mid-fielders Hou Fai Tang and Ho Chi Fong.

Macau have lost all the previous matches, scored no goal and are currently placed at the bottom of the table.

Coach San said despite the losses, he was still happy because his players had learnt many thing.

Talking about the game today, San said there were many difficulties ahead as Viet Nam had a good striker (referring to Nguyen Cong Phuong) and many quality defenders.

The match will be aired live at 4pm on the K+ and VTV6 channels.

Source VNS

Vietnam aim to score as many goals as possible against Macau in their encounter on Tuesday in Group I of the qualifiers of the AFC U-23 Championship in the hope of making it to the final stage.

The Vietnamese now rank second in the group with three points after a 2-1 win over Malaysia and 0-2 loss to Japan.

Macau have been eliminated after losing 0-2 to Malaysia and 0-7 to Japan.

An emphatic win over the underdogs will likely leave Vietnam as one of the five best second-place teams to advance to the finals of the AFC U-23 Championship, as long as second-place squads from the other groups fail to achieve their desired results during their last qualifiers today.

Ahead of the game with Vietnam in Malaysia, coach Tam Iao San of Macau said he wants to exit the qualifying round with at least one point.

Japanese coach Toshiya Miura of Vietnam admitted, “I think it’s not easy to crush Macau, especially after I watched their performance in their 0-2 defeat against Malaysia.”

Vietnam likely will stage an attacking formation of 3-4-3 to take on Macau. In the match with Japan two days ago, Vietnam played the defensive formation of 5-4-1.

The Vietnam-Macau game will be broadcast live on VTV6 at 4:00 pm today.

The AFC U-23 qualification has 43 participating football teams, divided into 10 groups.

According to the rules, the 10 teams who top their respective group will advance to the finals in Qatar next year. They will be joined by five second-place squads who have the best results during the qualifying round.

However, Vietnam are now at the bottom compared to other second-place rivals in the other groups, except Group B, which has not yet started competition.

After two matches, Vietnam have a goal difference of 2/3, Yemen from Group D 7/1, Uzbekistan from Group E 6/0, Myanmar from Group F 5/1, Thailand from Group G 7/2, Indonesia from Group H 7/0, and Laos from Group J 7/0.

Oman and Saudi Arabia with a goal difference of 10/1 and 7/0 respectively are in Groups A and C with five teams each.

Source Tuoitrenews

Japan’s Shoya Nakajima scored a double to make it two-out-of-two wins at the 2016 AFC U23 Championship qualifiers with a 2-0 win over Viet Nam yesterday (March 29) at the Shah Alam Stadium in Selangor, Malaysia.

Under pressure: Vietnamese striker Nguyen Cong Phuong is surrounded by Japanese players during their AFC U23 qualifier yesterday (March 29) in Malaysia. Japan won 2-0.

Japan proved their credentials as a candidate for the championships from the start of the Group I second round match, giving Viet Nam no space from the kick-off.

The samurais launched wave after wave of attacks while Viet Nam struggled to protect their goal, and 22-year-old Nakajima opened the score in the 43rd minute.

Nakajima and teammate Takumi Minamino combined to slot the ball past Vietnamese goalie Phi Minh Long.

Huynh Tan Tan of Viet Nam nearly leveled the score just one minute later in a rare opportunity in Masatoshi Kushibiki’s area, but his shot went wide.

After the interval, things looked better for coach Toshiya Miura side as they limited Japan’s attacks.

However, Japan secured victory in added time as Nakajima converted with the Viet Nam asleep.

Hosts Malaysia claimed their first win of the campaign yesterday beating Macau 2-0 at the Shah Alam Stadium.

A goal in each half ensured the Malaysians gained their first win following an opening 2-1 loss at the hands of Viet Nam two days earlier.

Syahrul Azwari Ibrahim scored from the penalty spot in the 12th minute, while Wan Ahmad Amirzafran Wan Nadris made it 2-0 in the 67th.

Japan currently top the group with six points after two wins. They will play Razip Ismail’s Malaysia next, while Viet Nam will take on Macau who are seeking their first win of the campaign tomorrow.

Ten group winners and the five best second-placed teams will join hosts Qatar in the final round, with January’s 16-team competition also serving as Asia’s qualifying tournament for the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Source VNS