Hanoi (VNA) – A draw in Doha on July 3 for the Asian Cup 2011 qualifying round in Qatar found Vietnam in group D with China , Syria and Lebanon .
Vietnam , who qualified for the quarter-finals in last year’s Asian Cup, will face the aforementioned powerhouses in a round robin competition over two legs with the two top teams taking a berth for the final round.
In group A, Japan will clash against Bahrain , Hong Kong and Yemen , while Australia will play Indonesia , Oman and Kuwait in group B.
Uzbekistan will take on the United Arab Emirates , Malaysia and India in group C, while Iran , Thailand , Jordan and Singapore have been placed in group E.
Vietnam will face a formidable Chinese team after eight years. China’s players have in this period gained a lot of international exposure, especially Dong Fang Zhou who has played for Manchester United, Zheng Zhi for Charlton Athletics, Sun Ji Hai for Sheffield Wednesday, Ma Mingyu for Perugia and Du Wei for Celtic Glasgow.
According to Vietnam Football Federation’s general secretary Tran Quoc Tuan, Vietnam will have to eye every match every carefully if they want to qualify for the final round.
“We have to jostle for a final round berth as China will dominate for a space at the top of the group. It will be a tough challenge for Vietnam ,’ said Tuan.
Assistant coach Mai Duc Chung is fairly optimistic.
“It will be a tough task but Vietnam could take a final round berth. The team have to take advantage of their home turf and give it their all,” Chung said.
“I think they should play short-ball tactics of coupled with good teamwork both in defence and offence if they want to win in the group competition,” he added.
At the Asian Cup final round last year, Vietnam , drawn in group B, beat UAE 2-0, drew with Qatar 1-1 and lost to Japan 4-1.
In the Beijing Olympics 2008 qualifying round, Vietnam beat Lebanon 2-0 last February to qualify for the third state of the qualifiers, a first for the country.
Vietnam left on July 4 for a friendly match against China ’s Olympic team scheduled for July 6.
In their last friendly match against Indonesia two months ago, Vietnam lost 1-0.
Newly appointed coach Portuguese Henrique Calisto, who replaced Austrian Alfred Riedl after his poor performance at the Southeast Asian Games in Thailand last December, will get to show how prepared his team is in this friendly game.-Enditem
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