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Vietnam’s coach Park Hang-seo gave midfielder Nguyen Tuan Anh big applause after the frenetic World Cup 2022 qualifier against Thailand on Thursday.
As the host team, Thailand dominated the game and created many chances, especially in the second half’s extra time. However, Vietnam’s defense was strong enough to save the net, bagging one precious point.
“Tuan Anh is a great player. His recent impressive performance earned him a place on the field today. Though he needs further improvements, Tuan Anh was the player of the match and deserved our praise,” Park told a press briefing following the match at the 25,000-seat Thammasat University Stadium in Pathum Thani, 40km north of Bangkok.
“One point on the Thai soil will motivate us in the other matches. Both Thailand and Vietnam had chances to score. The biggest regret is that our men did not have their best physical conditions and enough time for training. Thailand is still a strong team in ASEAN with new coach Akira Nishino. He is a quality and experienced coach. I believe Thailand will make further progress under his lead,” said Park.
Asked about the yellow-card warning he received during the match, Park said: “I’m not mad because of Thai fans. I’m just a quick-tempered person. I was once kicked off the pitch in South Korea.”
He stopped short of revealing his plan for the SEA Games in the Philippines later this year.
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