‘We will cause trouble for Vietnam’: Saudi Arabia coach

“We respect Vietnam, but we will fight to enter the semifinal,” Al-Shehri said at a Saturday press meet, adding that it won’t be easy to deal with Vietnam in the quarterfinal.

“Vietnam are a high-quality team,” Al-Shehri said. “Vietnam have a playing style like South Korea thanks to the influence of their coach. They have fast and dexterous players who coordinate and defend well. I respect them.”

“But our players have more expertise. With the whole team’s capability, we will cause trouble for Vietnam,” he said.

Vietnam tied with both Thailand and South Korea, the latter strong contenders for the championship, and bested Malaysia to enter the quarterfinal. Saudi Arabia meanwhile are the only team to keep their net clean in all the U23 Asian Cup’s qualifier history. They defeated Tajikistan, the United Arab Emirates and tied with Japan to enter the quarterfinal.

The quarterfinal between Vietnam and Saudi Arabia will take place at 11 p.m. (Hanoi time) on Sunday and will be reported live on VnExpress International.