Vietnam’s Olympic dream comes to an end

Vietnam’s Olympic qualifying football team lost out to Saudi Arabia 4-1 in the second qualifying round for the 2012 London Olympics at My Dinh stadium in Hanoi on June 24.

Vietnam’s Olympic qualifying football team lost out to Saudi Arabia 4-1 in the second qualifying round for the 2012 London Olympics at My Dinh stadium in Hanoi on June 24.

Manh Dung, Vietnam’s football player in action at the match on June 24.(Photo:SGGP)
Manh Dung, Vietnam’s football player in action at the match on June 24.(Photo:SGGP)

Vietnamese players were no match to the Saudi Arabian team, which came as no surprise to football pros because they had a host of new players and the team was suffering from exhaustion after last week’s match in Abha. Still the match was a huge disappointment to Vietnamese fans.

Football pros said that the biggest drawback faced by Vietnamese players was their lack of experience against strong contenders.

Saudi Arabia had been preparing for the last ten months, having played 13 friendly matches while the Vietnamese team had only six days practice and during the last six months, Vietnam’s team had no practice sessions.

Coach Phan Thanh Hung said that he was pleased with the competitive spirit of his players but admitted that the team’s lack of experience was the cause of the team losing the match.

He added that the team needed more time to practice to be able to face strong contenders. Saudi Arabia had played a good match and deserved to win.

Saudi Arabia has now qualified for the next round for the 2012 London Olympics with a 6-1 victory.
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