Quan Van Chuan: 'Vietnam played well before the red card'

Tien Long received a direct red card in the 22nd minute when he fouled Nihad Muhammad near the penalty area. The referee determined that the Vietnamese midfielder was the last person to stop illegally in a situation that could lead to a goal for Iraq. This is considered a turning point. Vietnam lost the game, and conceded three goals.

"We played well before we received the red card and then lost the game," said Van Chuan. "This is a lesson for us to change. The team controlled the ball well, but still missed a lot of passes."

After the lack of people, Vietnam no longer controlled and developed the ball from home as well as at the beginning of the match. Coach Philippe Troussier remained in the 10-man squad until the 31st minute, before withdrawing striker Nguyen Van Truong to make room for midfielder Tran Quang Thinh.

"Losing people makes it harder to coordinate and bring the ball to the front line," Van Chuan added. "Coach Troussier withdrew a striker, so the goal of directing the ball up the front line was no longer available, because we did not have a coordinator."

In the 10 against 11, Vietnam only stood firm until 45 minutes. Hussein Abdullah skillfully dribbled between three Vietnamese players and was fouled by Luong Duy Cuong in the penalty area. From the 11m mark, Ali Almosawe accurately opened the scoring.

Van Chuan revealed that during the halftime break, coach Troussier still wanted the player to be consistent with the ball control style and then find opportunities to equalize. However, Iraq did not let Vietnam overturn. In the second half, the West Asian team scored two more goals. Vietnam also lost another man in the first minute of compensation, as Vo Hoang Minh Khoa received a second yellow card for a foul from behind on Dhulfiqar Younis.

Vietnam will play the next match on March 26 against the UAE, the team has just won the host Qatar 1-0.