Hanoi After returning home this afternoon, striker Nguyen Dinh Bac said he and his teammates were sad about the failure at the Asian Cup and called on fans to support them.
Nguyen Dinh Bac dribbles the ball during the match between Vietnam and Iraq in the final round of Group D on January 24. Photo: Lam Thoa
Dinh Bac was in group one, including the coaching staff, arriving at Noi Bai airport at noon on January 25, after an Asian Cup campaign that was considered unsuccessful. The team had to leave the tournament after three consecutive losses to Japan (2-4), Indonesia (0-1) and Iraq (2-3). This is the first time Vietnam has failed to advance past the group stage of this tournament, after reaching the quarterfinals twice in 2007 and 2019.
"The whole team is very sad because we did not achieve the set goal," Dinh Bac told VnExpress . Coach Troussier always encouraged us, saying that we could do it again in the two matches against Indonesia in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, but my teammates and I still feel regretful. However, the last tournament also brought us a lot of experience and lessons."
Born on August 19, 2004, Dinh Bac is ranked seventh in the list of youngest players participating in the 2023 Asian Cup. In the opening match against Japan, he impressed when he scored the equalizer 1-1 for Vietnam with a header from a corner kick by Do Hung Dung. The Quang Nam Club striker then made Yukinari Sugawara commit a foul, leading to a penalty that led to a goal to increase the score to 2-1 for Vietnam. He also had many confident dribbles against many opponents playing in Europe.
Due to injury, Dinh Bac was unable to participate in the match against Indonesia on January 19. This was a crucial match, and the 0-1 defeat resulted in Vietnam being eliminated early. Five days later, he recovered and started the match but could not help the team avoid defeat against one of the championship candidates, Iraq. In this match, Vietnam scored first, but Khuat Van Khang's red card at the end of the first half caused the team to lose a man and then lose.
"Khuat Van Khang's red card was unfortunate. There was nothing to blame him for in that situation. I hope fans will not turn their backs on the team because of these results. We hope fans will always stand by our side," Dinh Bac said.
With what he has shown, Dinh Bac will likely continue to be called up by coach Troussier in March - when the team plays the next two matches in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Indonesia. These are considered key matches, which can decide Vietnam's ability to win one of the two tickets to the next round. After that, the midfielder from Nghe An can be a core member of the U23 Asian Cup, taking place from April 15 to May 3, also in Qatar.
According to Dinh Bac, the Asian Cup has given him and the young players in the national team valuable experience for the U23 Asia. He affirmed that he will try his best to achieve good results in that tournament.
Quang Huy
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