Myanmar coach humble ahead of U-19 semis clash with Vietnam

Last month, the national U-19 team of Myanmar narrowly defeated their Vietnamese peers 4-3 in the final of the Hassanal Bolkiah Trophy, or the Southeast Asian U-22 Football Championship, in Brunei. Vietnam and Myanmar used under-19 players in that tourney.

Today, the teams will meet again at 7:15 pm local time, while Japan and Thailand will play in the other semis match.

Coach Ziese said, “Hosts Vietnam have many swift and smart players, who have had a long time of training and playing with their teammates. They have impressed me a lot.”

Myanmar managed to beat Vietnam last month, but it will be hard for them to repeat the victory at My Dinh, especially with Vietnam playing the role of hosts and the support of thousands of fans, the German coach added.

Commenting on Myanmar’s victory at the Hassan Bolkiah Trophy, the coach said his team had chances to train in many countries, including Germany, the Czech Republic, Cambodia, China, Oman, Laos, and Poland.

This training helped the Myanmarese players gain experience and progress, he said.

Ziese revealed that he has eliminated several players from his team for disciplinary and ego-related reasons.

Myanmar features three players who are dangerous no matter the team they are playing against: striker Aung Thu, and midfielders Nyein Chan Aung and Maung Maung Soe.

The trio have scored four of Myanmar’s five goals at the current tournament. Aung Thu scored the last goal to seal the team’s 4-3 win over Vietnam in Brunei last month.

French coach Guillaume Graechen, who leads the Vietnamese side, admitted that, “The semifinal game with Myanmar is a very difficult challenge for Vietnam.

“Center defender Dong Trieu has suffered a light injury to the back of his right leg.”

Vietnam will deliver a strong performance and try to limit defensive mistakes, Graechen said.