Vietnam coach Alfred Riedl is confident his Group B underdogs can spring a surprise in their tournament opener against Gulf Cup champions UAE on Sunday.
Co-hosts Vietnam have been handed a tough task of advancing to the last eight after being paired with UAE, two-time defending champions Japan and Asian Games gold medallists Qatar, but Riedl’s side will have the backing of the passionate home support at the My Dinh National Stadium in Hanoi.
Riedl has a fully fit squad at his disposal, helped by the coaches’ decision to ban tackling from training, and is confident after recent friendly victories over Jamaica and Bahrain, the 2004 AFC Asian Cup semi-finalists.
“Japan are the favourites to win the group, but they are also one of the favourites to win the tournament. You would have to say that the second place in the group will be between Qatar and the UAE, but we are not sure what we can do against these teams,” said Riedl.
“We started preparations on the June 19 and we have played two friendly matches against Jamaica and Bahrain.
“At the start we had some problems as we had five players who were injured, but since we arrived in Vietnam they have recovered and everybody is fit and ready to play the match against the UAE. We do not have problems and the team has been decided, we are ready.
“We played Bahrain in a friendly, we won it by luck because it should have been a draw, but it proved we can do something against the strong teams.
“I have had experiences in the past when players make tough tackles in training, so tackling is not allowed in our training because when you slide and you are on the ground you cannot control yourself and injuries can happen. It would be very stupid if one player injured another one.”
Despite his confidence the Austrian is well aware his side face a tough task against Bruno Metsu’s side, which includes Al Wahda frontman Ismail Matar, who top-scored with five goals in as many games during January’s Gulf Cup triumph.
“I saw the UAE in a friendly match in Malaysia,” added Riedl, who was in the stands as the UAE beat Malaysia 3-1 in Kuala Lumpur last month.
“I have gathered a lot of information from the internet and sports news as well as from friends.
“Ismail Matar was the top scorer at the last Gulf Cup. I watched him in Malaysia and he made a good impression but we are not just focussing on one player, we have to concentrate on the whole team. They are a strong team and we will have to match them and ensure we concentrate over the entire match.”
Co-hosts Vietnam have been handed a tough task of advancing to the last eight after being paired with UAE, two-time defending champions Japan and Asian Games gold medallists Qatar, but Riedl’s side will have the backing of the passionate home support at the My Dinh National Stadium in Hanoi.
Riedl has a fully fit squad at his disposal, helped by the coaches’ decision to ban tackling from training, and is confident after recent friendly victories over Jamaica and Bahrain, the 2004 AFC Asian Cup semi-finalists.
“Japan are the favourites to win the group, but they are also one of the favourites to win the tournament. You would have to say that the second place in the group will be between Qatar and the UAE, but we are not sure what we can do against these teams,” said Riedl.
“We started preparations on the June 19 and we have played two friendly matches against Jamaica and Bahrain.
“At the start we had some problems as we had five players who were injured, but since we arrived in Vietnam they have recovered and everybody is fit and ready to play the match against the UAE. We do not have problems and the team has been decided, we are ready.
“We played Bahrain in a friendly, we won it by luck because it should have been a draw, but it proved we can do something against the strong teams.
“I have had experiences in the past when players make tough tackles in training, so tackling is not allowed in our training because when you slide and you are on the ground you cannot control yourself and injuries can happen. It would be very stupid if one player injured another one.”
Despite his confidence the Austrian is well aware his side face a tough task against Bruno Metsu’s side, which includes Al Wahda frontman Ismail Matar, who top-scored with five goals in as many games during January’s Gulf Cup triumph.
“I saw the UAE in a friendly match in Malaysia,” added Riedl, who was in the stands as the UAE beat Malaysia 3-1 in Kuala Lumpur last month.
“I have gathered a lot of information from the internet and sports news as well as from friends.
“Ismail Matar was the top scorer at the last Gulf Cup. I watched him in Malaysia and he made a good impression but we are not just focussing on one player, we have to concentrate on the whole team. They are a strong team and we will have to match them and ensure we concentrate over the entire match.”



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