Vietnam futsal team coach gives very worrying news, Australian coach 'this is a life or death match'

Vietnam futsal team is missing key players:

The Vietnamese futsal team won all four matches in Group A of the 2024 Southeast Asian Futsal Championship, thus entering the semi-finals as the top team. Coach Diego Raul Giustozzi and his team defeated Timor Leste (4-1), Malaysia (2-0), Brunei (14-0) and Thailand (3-2), scoring 23 goals and conceding 3. In the semi-finals, Vietnam's opponent is Australia, the team that won second place in Group B.

"For us, the most important thing at this time is a day off to help the whole team recover both physically and mentally. Because we have just gone through 4 matches in a strong group," coach Giustozzi shared.

Coach Giustozzi of Vietnam futsal team

According to Mr. Giustozzi, the Vietnamese futsal team faces a challenge as it is likely that captain Pham Duc Hoa will be absent. The current Golden Ball of Vietnamese futsal will have difficulty playing due to an injury in the match against Thailand (a collision with the goalkeeper). The very dense schedule of 4 matches in 5 days has overloaded some of Coach Giustozzi's students.

"Captain Pham Duc Hoa has an injury and may not be able to play tomorrow. However, I believe the remaining players are ready to fight," Coach Giustozzi revealed.

The Vietnam futsal team will welcome the return of goalkeeper Ho Van Y. In addition, if fixo Duc Hoa is absent, coach Giustozzi needs to recalculate the defensive personnel. Because although there are many good ala (wingers) and pivots (strikers), the Vietnam futsal team lacks a solid enough stopper like Duc Hoa.

Will Da Hai (No. 8) be used?

Coach Giustozzi added: "For us, the group stage has ended and now it's the semi-finals, both Vietnam and Australia want to win to reach the final. I think the lack of motivation to fight at this point is completely impossible. My players are in better spirits than ever."

What did the Australian opponent say?

The Australian futsal team finished second in Group B, behind Indonesia. Coach Miles Downie's team drew 3-3 with Myanmar, lost 1-3 to Indonesia and beat Cambodia 9-2, earning 4 points after 3 matches.

Although Australia is in the top 5 in Asia in the 11-team football tournament, this country's football is not outstanding in the "field" of futsal. The Australian futsal team is ranked 49th in the world, 4 places below Vietnam. In the Southeast Asian futsal championship, Australia has finished second 4 times (2007, 2013, 2014, 2015).

Although they beat Australia in the last two matches, this is still an evenly matched opponent with coach Giustozzi's team.

Australian coach Downie affirmed: "The Australian futsal team needs to prepare very carefully. We have a few injuries, but it is not a big deal. The players are fit enough to play. The match against Vietnam is a matter of life and death, so we have to play with all our abilities."

The Vietnamese futsal team will face Australia in the 2024 Southeast Asian semi-finals at 3:00 p.m. tomorrow (November 8).

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/hlv-doi-tuyen-futsal-viet-nam-bao-tin-rat-dang-lo-hlv-uc-day-la-tran-song-con-185241107115533337.htm