Nepal coach: "Vietnam team deserves to attend Asian Cup more than Malaysia"

(Dan Tri) - Despite playing with great effort, Nepal still lost 0-1 to the Vietnamese team at Thong Nhat Stadium (HCMC) on the evening of October 14 in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers. At the press conference, assistant coach Salyan Khadgi commented on the match.

Appearing at the post-match press conference, assistant coach Salyan Khadgi gave an overall assessment: "In today's match, we fought hard against the Vietnamese team. It was unfortunate that we conceded an own goal, but as you can see, the Nepal team still played very well in the second half."

Regarding being assigned to replace head coach Matt Ross, assistant coach Salyan Khadgi shared: "Today, I replaced the head coach for this match. The whole team played well and followed the tactics set out by the coaching staff.

The Nepal team played resiliently and only conceded one goal against the Vietnam team (Photo: Khoa Nguyen).

Vietnam is a strong team, but Nepal also played very resiliently in the second half. What I am satisfied with is that the whole team played with courage, the players always wanted to move forward.

What is not satisfactory is that Nepal prepared a plan for today's match. Even though we lost the match, my players played with all their heart and passion."

When asked if Nepal would show a different side if they played at home today, assistant coach Salyan Khadgi said: "We have a clear strategy for this match, which is to defend firmly.

In the second half, the Nepal team created more clear and sharp attacks. If we were playing at home in this match, our goal would be to attack, not just defend like today."

Regarding the situation in Group F of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers, assistant coach Salyan Khadgi commented: "I think the Vietnamese team deserves and has more chances to participate in the 2027 Asian Cup finals than Malaysia. I mean the recent incident related to FIFA. If FIFA rules are applied, the results of the group will change."

Nepal lost both matches against Vietnam in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers (Photo: Nam Anh).

After a 3-1 victory over Nepal 5 days ago, the Vietnamese team will face Nepal again at Thong Nhat Stadium (HCMC) with the goal of 3 points. Coach Kim Sang Sik's team started off well when they opened the score in the 5th minute, when a Nepalese player scored an own goal.

However, in the following minutes, the Vietnamese team slowed down and let their opponents regain control of the game. Nepal had many dangerous attacks and the alertness of goalkeeper Trung Kien helped the Vietnamese team not concede a goal in the first half.

In the second half, Nepal played with great effort and they lost some strength in the last 20 minutes. The Vietnamese team also had chances but Dinh Bac, Thanh Nhan and Duc Chien all failed to finish. According to statistics, the ball hit the Nepal goalpost 3 times.

The Vietnamese team struggled to maintain their 1-0 victory after 90 minutes. In the same match, Malaysia easily beat Laos 5-1 despite being behind in the first half. After 4 matches in Group F of the 2027 Asian Cup, Malaysia leads the group with 12 points, the Vietnamese team ranks second with 9 points, the next positions belong to Laos (3 points) and Nepal (0 points).

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/hlv-nepal-tuyen-viet-nam-xung-dang-du-asian-cup-hon-malaysia-20251014220558410.htm