Vietnam will strengthen its error-prone defensive wall to confront Saudi Arabia
in the second leg of the 2012 Olympic qualifiers today after conceding a
two-goal loss in the first leg last Sunday.

Coach Phan Thanh Hung admitted his side is facing a
difficult mission to win Saudi in Hanoi
with a gap of at least three goals to avoid elimination from the tournament.

“It was the poor performance of defenders that resulted in
the team being beaten 2-0. We had only a week for players Van Hoan, Thanh Hao,
Van Nam
and Tan Dat to train with one another,” said Hung.

He also predicted at the press conference in Hanoi on Wednesday that
today game will see determined competition in the middle of the field where
both sides want to take control.

Coach Yousef Anbar of Saudi Arabia
announced his players had 10 months to prepare for the Olympic qualifiers,
including 13 friendly games before meeting Vietnam.

The Saudi Olympic team have six players who are also members
of the national senior squad, he said.

Though boasting that his players were not at their best when
winning Vietnam 2-0 four
days ago, coach Anbar was cautious at commenting about Vietnam.

“I was really surprised at witnessing Vietnamese players who
had impressive progress though being beaten 2-0,” he said. “They had two clear
chances but failed to convert them.”

Source: Tuoi Tre