Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kunshan: Australia coach Ante Milicic will not alter his commitment to his team’s philosophy as the Olyroos go in search of a win against Korea Republic on Wednesday that will guarantee them a place in the quarter-finals of the AFC U23 Championship 2018.
The Australians missed out on securing an early berth in the next phase when they suffered a surprise 1-0 defeat at the hands of Vietnam in the second round of Group D matches on Sunday after opening their campaign with victory over Syria.
That result leaves Australia in a tie for second in the group on three points with the Vietnamese with Korea Republic topping the standings with four points and Syria in fourth on a solitary point.
“We won't change our approach based on a situation or the opposition,” said the Australian coach. “What we’re trying to do at this championship is we want to maintain a distinct playing style along with the senior national team.
“We will approach it in the same way, maybe we will look at the line up again and what we can do for recovery and how players feel. But there will be no change with our approach and mentality. We’ll continue going down that path.”
www.the-afc.com/en/more/photo/syriau23-korea_republic.html
www.the-afc.com/en/more/photo/vietnamu23-celebrations.html
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kunshan: Midfielder Ahmad Al Ahmad believes Syria can continue to improve when they take on Vietnam in their final Group D game of the AFC U23 Championship 2018 on Wednesday as Hussein Afash’s side attempt to overcome their poor pre-tournament preparations.
The Syrians were unable to arrange any friendly matches before the competition kicked off and they subsequently lost their opening game against Australia.
But a strong performance in their 0-0 draw against Korea Republic on Sunday has given the Syrians belief that they can make additional progress when they go face-to-face with Vietnam.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kunshan: Korea Republic midfielder Han Seung-gyu is setting his sights on claiming all three points when his side take on Australia in their final AFC U23 Championship 2018 Group D game on Wednesday, even though a draw will be enough to take Kim Bong-gil’s side into the knockout rounds.
The Koreans were held to a 0-0 draw by Syria on Sunday after kicking off their campaign with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Vietnam and Han was left frustrated by the failure to score against Hussein Afash’s team.
"I am not satisfied in our performance, as we didn't perform as we expected,” he told the-AFC.com. “In the second half we tried to play our style but we couldn't get the good finishing, and that's why we drew.
"In the first match against Vietnam, there was no space for us to play as we wanted, while against Syria there was a lot of pressure from the opponents. The Syria attacking line was good, and they were good physically too, so it was totally different.”
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kunshan: Improved confidence was the key to Vietnam’s victory over Australia, claimed Nguyen Quang Hai, after his solitary goal secured his side their first win in Group D of the AFC U23 Championship 2018 on Sunday.
Quang Hai’s deflected shot 18 minutes from time was enough to separate the teams and give the Vietnamese their first win of the competition after losing 2-1 to Korea Republic in their opening game.
"I’m very happy as we won against the Australia team,” said the 20-year-old Hanoi FC midfielder. “Our team lost in the first match, so we tried to do something better today.
"Compared with the first match, we played much better against Australia. We were more confident, there was a lot of confidence in every position in the team and we fixed some of the mistakes from the first match, and that's why we were better.”