Lookatvietnam – Viet Nam hope to take at least one point in a clash against host China today in the second match of the Asian Cup 2011 qualifier in Hangzhou Town in order to stay at the race.

Calisto said that his team will do well against China even though they are missing top striker Le Cong Vinh and goalie Duong Hong Son. (Photo: VNN)

“Our duty is to try our best to take one point. It will be big challenge but I believe that we will do it,” he added.

Phuong’s feeling was echoed by his teammate Le Tan Tai, who has just recovered from injury.

“We are ready for the match. China are a powerful team but we have our own strong points and the most important is that we are at our peak which will help us to have the best result in this match,” Tai said.

A troubled host

The China national team is in the centre of a storm of criticism after their unexpected loss. They are now under heavy pressure to beat Viet Nam for the first three points.

Chinese newspapers keep running articles about the Viet Nam team. Any change in ASEAN winning team is updated immediately. The absence of striker Vinh and goalie Son was popular news in the country for days.

Some articles also blamed coach Yin Tiesheng for the failure, saying he made tactical errors and used his players incorrectly.

Some reporters said Yin was too conservative using only one forward, which reduced the power of the team.

While football officials asked Yin to use both striker Gao Lin and Qu Bo at the same time, Yin protected his decision by saying that in his line-up, only Gao was suitable for the position.

In fact, Qu, who was put on the field in the second half of the China vs Syria match, scored a goal for his team.

Yin refused to answer questions about the forward line until Monday afternoon due partly to his concern over defender Zhang Yoakun, who was hurt during a practice session earlier.

The team doctor said Zhang may not found a worthy replacement.

Meanwhile his star duo, Du Wei and Wang Xiao, have been making regular mistakes.

A Hangzhou reporter said that China will have different head coach regardless of the result of today’s game.

The blame spread beyond the coach and on Monday the China Football Association (CFA) announced that CFA chairman Xie Yalong will be replaced by his deputy Nan Yong.

Xie is a former track and field athlete. Since he became the CFA chairman in 2005 he has been asked to resign multiple times.

Under his leadership, China failed to pass the Asian Cup 2007 group round and were eliminated early from the World Cup 2010 qualifier, while the U-23 team failed to win a single match at the Beijing Olympics last August.

(Source: Viet Nam News)