Vietnam's Austrian coach Alfred Riedl has called on his team to play like men and not boys in today's Asian Cup quarter-final against Iraq.
Riedl admitted that his side would be the underdogs having unexpectedly made it to the knock-out stages of the competition and he said every player will have to bring his A game to stand any chance of progressing.
"I have seen no weak points in the Iraq team. We have to go out with all our power and effort and with no fear," Riedl said yesterday. "We need to go out and be men. We don't need small boys, we need men."
Riedl admitted that nobody expected Vietnam to reach this stage of the competition but said he has challenged his players to prove that they merit their place in the last eight and to show the ambition to go all the way.
Already the players are seen as heroes in their homeland having beaten Gulf Cup champions United Arab Emirates and held Qatar to a draw before being crushed 4-1 by Japan in their final Group B match.
But Riedl is guarded against letting his team rest on their laurels.
"I don't know if they are heroes because they only won one match and drew one," he said. "It's a great achievement for Vietnamese football, that's for sure. But I have asked the players why they are here. To come here and lose the match or do we want to go to the semi-final in Malaysia."
It seems Riedl may be getting through to his players as captain Nguyen Minh Phuong seemed determined the Vietnamese journey was not about to end.
"We've had a great achievement in reaching the quarter-finals. We are very happy and proud because we are Vietnam," he said. "We've prepared everything for the next match and we will go through to the semi-final in Malaysia."
Vietnam could be missing several key players, including playmaker Phan Van Tai Em, who may not start as he is getting married on the same day.
Riedl, who is also sweating on the fitness of defender Nguyen Huy Hoang and midfielder Tran Duc Duong, was resigned to losing Tai Em.
"Tai Em has his wedding day so we have to release him. He can't change his wedding day as there are too many people coming to the marriage already and it's an important day for him," Riedl said. "We don't want to force him or put pressure on him."
Minh Phuong, a club-mate of Tai Em's, admitted that he and his team-mates had even been invited to the wedding.
"Everyone has been invited, even coach Riedl, but we are busy as we have a match. But we are hoping to offer him a present -- a place in the semi-finals," he said.
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