Bangladesh Coach: 'Vietnam team has a chance to defeat Malaysia'

Coach Javier Cabrera highly praised the strength of the Vietnam team as Bangladesh conceded three goals quite easily. He also believes that Coach Kim Sang Sik's squad can defeat Malaysia on March 31.

"The Vietnam team has many talented players and is at an age where they can develop further. I was impressed with some players at the recent Asian U23 Championship. Foreign players are just an addition to that," Coach Javier Cabrera began the post-match press conference.

He continued: "We had some discussions to be able to continue into the second half. Nothing important. The distance from the dressing room to the pitch was also long, so we came out a few minutes late.

Indeed, in the second half I made changes to the two wing defenders. But that wasn't a significant change.

In the first half, the Vietnam team held better positions. They utilized spaces and set-piece situations effectively. That's what I talked about during halftime to make changes.

This was also my disappointment in this match. In the second half, my players performed better.

This match was truly difficult. I know the capabilities of the Vietnam team. The Bangladesh team competed well in the second half. Vietnam is a strong team. You will face Malaysia in a few days, and I think there will be and have an opportunity to win.

The Vietnam team had opportunities and converted them well. Meanwhile, we had clear opportunities but lacked the skill.

The positive point is that we could create opportunities against a strong team like Vietnam, which is good before facing Singapore."

While the Vietnam team faces Malaysia in the final Asian Cup 2027 qualifying round match on March 31, Bangladesh will be guests at Singapore against the host team.