Singapore coach: "Vietnam team deserves to enter the final of AFF Cup 2024"

(Dan Tri) - Singapore suffered a 1-3 defeat at Viet Tri Stadium (Phu Tho) in the second leg of the semi-finals on the evening of December 29 and said goodbye to the 2024 AFF Cup. After the match, coach Tsutomu Ogura acknowledged the class of the Vietnamese team.

Xuan Son, Tien Linh shine, Vietnam team enters the final of AFF Cup 2024

Appearing at the press conference after the match, coach Tsutomu Ogura said: "First of all, I would like to congratulate the Vietnamese team. You are very strong and deserve to be in the final. You have a good squad of players and very effective tactics. I believe the Vietnamese team will continue to play well in the final."

Although Singapore said goodbye to the AFF Cup 2024 after losing two semi-final matches with a total score of 1-5, the Japanese strategist was still proud of his students: "I am proud of the players, they played very well with high fighting spirit.

HLV Singapore: Tuyển Việt Nam xứng đáng vào chung kết AFF Cup 2024 - 1 — Coach Tsutomu Ogura highly appreciated the class of the Vietnamese team (Photo: Manh Quan).

The players were not afraid or worried when facing the Vietnamese team, which was stronger and had an advantage in the first leg. I am generally satisfied with this result, there is not much to think about this defeat. We aim to improve with each match, perfecting the tactics we have set out."

Regarding the situation where Anuar put the ball into Dinh Trieu's net but the goal was not recognized in the 11th minute, coach Tsutomu Ogura stated his opinion: "Not only this match, in the loss to Thailand in the group stage, we also had to wait for the referee to review the VAR technology.

The referee has made his decision, we don't have much to say because the referee's decision needs to be respected. In the future, Singapore players need to practice more to avoid penalties in important matches."

"After the 2024 AFF Cup, we will aim for the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers. This year's Southeast Asian tournament is not part of FIFA Days, so the Singapore team does not have all the best players, but those who have played have had the opportunity to improve.

In official tournaments, we will call back stars who play abroad, aiming to build team cohesion," the Japanese strategist believes the home team will be stronger after the 2024 AFF Cup.

Regarding the level of the teams participating in the AFF Cup 2024, coach Tsutomu Ogura commented: "If Singapore can call back players who play abroad, it will be stronger. The quality of the Vietnamese team is very good, they have good individuals and the strong teams playing in their V-League have many high-class players.

I'm not sure if we can call up Singaporean players to play abroad, it will really make us stronger than our opponents in the AFF Cup. But hopefully next time we will have our full squad."

HLV Singapore: Tuyển Việt Nam xứng đáng vào chung kết AFF Cup 2024 - 2 — Singapore's efforts only helped them score a consolation goal against the Vietnamese team (Photo: Do Minh Quan).

After a 2-0 victory in the first leg, the Vietnamese team was in a good mood when they hosted Singapore in the second leg of the AFF Cup 2024 semi-finals at Viet Tri Stadium (Phu Tho). The away team played with determination at the beginning of the match and Anuar put the ball into Dinh Trieu's net in the 11th minute, but the referee blew the whistle for offside after checking VAR technology.

The highlight of the match came in the 39th minute, Xuan Son was pulled down in the Singapore penalty area while Hai Long took a free kick. The Uzbek referee, after reviewing VAR, blew the whistle for a penalty and Xuan Son calmly opened the scoring.

In the second half, the Vietnamese team played slowly but sharply. In the 63rd minute, Hoang Duc crossed for Xuan Son to tap the ball into the net, doubling the gap to 2-0. 10 minutes later, Nakamura fired a long shot from outside the penalty area, reducing the score to 1-2 for the Singapore team.

In the final minute of the match, Tien Linh successfully converted the penalty, sealing a 3-1 victory for coach Kim Sang Sik's team in the second leg. The Vietnamese team won 5-1 overall after two semi-final matches and advanced to the final of the AFF Cup 2024.

The Vietnamese team will play the first leg of the final at Viet Tri Stadium on January 2 and the second leg will take place on January 5, against the winner of the Thailand-Philippines match. Coach Kim Sang Sik has many worries as Van Thanh and Tan Tai are injured while Bui Tien Dung, Xuan Son and Dinh Trieu received unfortunate yellow cards at the end of the match against Singapore on December 29.