Dutch coach Van Bert Marwijk has confirmed that although the result of Thursday's match against Vietnam that ended in a 1-0 loss to the 2022 World Cup and 2023 Asian Cup qualifiers, they have not always been good for them. The foot accept the loss and work for the next stage, saying that the red card received by defender Khalifa Al Hammadi in the first half changed the game.
"We played a good game, we missed the final touch, we created a lot of chances and we were close to scoring a lot of times," said Marvik.
"Khalifa Al Hammadi's dismissal has had a big impact on the national team and represented a turning point in the game," he told a news conference after the match.
"I don't want to talk about refereeing, I don't know what happened. I saw the shot in the video between the two games. Khalifa did not push the Vietnam player but they joined together in search of the ball and they fell together too. I don't think Khalifa was deliberately stopped but unfortunately in these qualifiers There is no video technology until we go back to find out, but why did the decision to meet make this decision I do not know. "
As for the team's chances after this loss, he explained that we still have games that we will play with great determination and determination. There are points that are still on the pitch and we have to fight on any point. "
"The result is certainly disappointing but there is always a bright side which is the outstanding performance of the players. We still have a chance to get to the next stage.
Asked if the team was affected by Hammadi's dismissal, he said, "Some of the players like Ahmed Khalil and Omar Abdel Rahman, who preferred to withdraw them in the second session, said:" This is not true. Amouri and Khalil have made a good game. 90 minutes, we played the game in very difficult circumstances and our team lacks the efforts of a large number of players such as Ali Mabkhout, Ahmed Berman and Khalil Ibrahim, and Ali Salmeen could not participate as well, and do not forget that we spent 60 minutes of the meeting with ten players in front of a stubborn opponent and his fans filled Pitch but nonetheless to pay tribute to the players they have presented A good performance and there are players who have emerged well and their level of development a lot in this meeting and this is as good as Walid Abbas and Khalifa Al Hammadi before the expulsion and Abdullah Ramadan, Barghash and Alatas, who came out injured.
The coach stressed that they must hold on to hope and work hard to continue the journey, stressing his great confidence in the players and their ability to achieve the best in the upcoming games.
Marvik praised the Vietnam team, describing him as a distinguished team and play in a distinctive manner and has a great opportunity now to cross into the next stage.