Hang-Seo lauds his Golden Dragons

dubai — Vietnam coach Park Hang-Seo lauded his players for their display against Jordan which put them into the quarterfinals of the AFC Asian Cup.

After regulation had ended 1-1, the Golden Dragons prevailed 4-2 on penalties at the Al Maktoum Stadium on Sunday night.

Vietnam had had one less day to recover following their last group fixture against Yemen and only knew their fate on Thursday.

And Hang-Seo praised his players for not showing any signs of fatigue. Honestly, we got to the round of 16 narrowly and we didn’t have enough time to recover. So, it was a great performance from the players,” HangSeo said after the game.

“The match was tough but my players know we are one team and even if it was tiring, they fought till the end,” he added.

Vietnam either take on Japan or Saudi Arabia in the last eight and Hang-Seo said there are no easy teams in the competition.

“I think there are no easy teams in the competition, especially in the knockout stages,” felt the 60-year-old South Korean.

Meanwhile, Jordan coach Vital Borkelmans said that Vietnam deserved the result but was proud of his boys. “The first half was very good for us and we had a lot of chances. The moment that we had was good. It was a game of two different halves as Vietnam managed their way into the game,” said Borkelmans. “It is difficult when you lose. My players worked hard. But in the end, I think, Vietnam deserved to win,” added the Belgian.