Vietnam will play Thailand with no regrets: coach Park

“Losing 0-2 in the first leg made everything difficult for Vietnam in the second. But we will try our best. I want the players to fulfill their roles and approach the game with composure,” Park told a press conference Saturday.

Vietnam lost to Thailand in the first leg on Thursday via a Chanathip Songkrasin double. However, Park believes Vietnam can still turn the tie around to enter the final.

“The game tomorrow will be a beautiful one with no regrets,” Park said.

After the first leg, there was a dispute between the two teams. Thai media claimed Park argued with left-back Theerathon Bunmathan. However, Park denied the claim.

“I didn’t find him. After the match, Bunmathan acted rudely and I told him not to do that. I understand Thailand’s feeling. They just had their first win against us in four years so they were extremely delighted. If they were my players, I would tell them to avoid doing that with the opponents,” Park added.

Qatar ref Al-Adba made many controversial decisions in the first leg. He ignored a clear foul when Teerathon Bunmathan elbowed Nguyen Quang Hai in the face. Later, he only gave keeper Chatchai Budprom a yellow card instead of a red when he came out of the box to foul Nguyen Van Toan and directly prevented him from scoring. At the end of the match, he denied a penalty to Vietnam when a Thai player let the ball hit his hand after an attempt of clearance.

“After the game, I rewatched controversial situations. I couldn’t sleep to be honest. I’m sure Vietnamese fans felt the same. If the referee has the time to watch the game again, surely he would rethink his decisions.”

About Thailand’s strategy in the upcoming game, Park said: “I don’t know how they will approach the game. Maybe they will remain the same or make some adjustments here and there. My job is to prepare plans to deal with those adjustments. Despite losing 0-2, we will keep our spirit and style of play.”

In this game, Vietnam will miss defender Do Duy Manh due to a shoulder injury. Key defenders like Tran Dinh Trong and Bui Tien Dung have returned to training but in case they are not ready to play, two young defenders Bui Hoang Viet Anh and Nguyen Thanh Binh can fill their spots.

The game will take place on Sunday at 7:30 p.m. (Hanoi time) and will be report live on VnExpress International.