Vietnamese international Nguyen Chinh Linh confessed in front of the media, "Our team, a team with a varied style, which can be seen from our experiences in past encounters. Their defenders are big but lack in intelligence."
Vietnamese media further reported that despite losing all six meetings with the country's national team, the Vietnam U22 national team defeated the country's U22 national team coached by Hiddink 2-0 in a warm-up match on September 8, 2019, thanks to Nguyen Chin Linh scoring a goal in each half. In addition, Nguyen Chin Ling contributed five goals for Vietnam in the World Qualifier 40, equaling Nguyen Hong Son and setting a new record for goals scored by a Vietnamese player in a qualifier.
Nguyen Chinh Linh first said that he was lucky to be in Group B because he thought that the overall competitiveness of Group B was a little bit lower than Group A. He said that the team was very unstable and we need to know more about them. Talking about our team, he said bluntly: "Our team's play is extremely unstable and we need to know more about them. In the U22 tournament two years ago, I found that their defenders were tall but not smart enough. In contrast, Vietnamese players are more skillful."
"It was a memorable victory. Before the match, we all thought it would be difficult to beat our team, but as soon as the match started, we noticed that all their players looked nervous when they received the ball, which made us realize that our opponents were not strong. Therefore, we went into the game with confidence and eventually won. Of course, that was the performance of the U22 national team, which is naturally different from the adult national team. Their success in advancing to the Top 12 is proof of that. Therefore, my teammates and I must prepare for the match seriously and not just rely on the experience of that warm-up match."
