Binh Dinh coach finds it hard to swallow the loss to Viettel

Coach Nguyen Duc Thang had considered a penalty shootout, until Duc Chien scored a beautiful goal in extra time to help Viettel win 1-0 in the semi-finals of the 2023 National Cup.

At halftime, coach Duc Thang told his players to take advantage of the opportunity if they had it, otherwise they would wait for the penalty shootout. Near the end of the match, he sent Mac Hong Quan and Nghiem Xuan Tu onto the field to prepare for this plan. But in the second minute of extra time in the second half, substitute player Nguyen Duc Chien headed the ball into the dead corner to score, helping Viettel beat Binh Dinh 1-0 at Hang Day Stadium.

Binh Dinh's head coach praised the Viettel midfielder but still felt uncomfortable. "I had to gnaw on my sadness, it was hard to accept losing in extra time," said Mr. Thang.

Coach Nguyen Duc Thang assesses Viettel as having a good chance of winning the 2023 National Cup. Photo: Hieu Luong — Coach Nguyen Duc Thang assesses Viettel as having a good chance of winning the 2023 National Cup. Photo: *Hieu Luong*

Binh Dinh failed to reach the finals and had to settle for third place with PVF-CAND, who lost 1-4 to Thanh Hoa in the same match. Last year, they lost 0-2 to Hanoi FC in the final.

Meanwhile, coach Thach Bao Khanh said Viettel's goal was the result of training. "We practice situations like that and sending Duc Chien and Xuan Kien (the assist players) onto the field was intentional," said Mr. Khanh.

The 2023 National Cup final is scheduled to take place at Thanh Hoa Stadium on August 20. Viettel aims to win the championship for the first time, while the last time they reached the final was in 2020 – losing 1-2 to Hanoi FC.

Viettel (in white) has a squad of domestic players, most of whom are products trained by the club itself. Photo: Hieu Luong

As an observer, Coach Duc Thang assessed that Viettel has a higher chance of winning the championship thanks to its good squad and excellent domestic players trained by themselves. Mr. Thang said that this is the result of 12 years of systematic investment by Viettel Youth Football Training Center, in which he was a part of the first generation of coaches.

"Viettel deserves to achieve the results they have today after investing a lot of money," said coach Duc Thang. "Viettel will have more chances to win than Thanh Hoa."

Hieu Luong

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