Vietnam hopes to keep dream alive

Vietnam will be entering the match with little chance remaining on the possibility of winning a ticket to Australia in 2015. The country has lost all three matches and are now at the bottom of the Group E.

Only a win over Uzbek this week will keep a slight chance of qualification alive and it is a huge task for interim head coach Nguyen Van Sy and his players.

The Uzbeks showed their power in the first leg gap with a 3-1 win but Sy seemed to have learned from the defeat and said that he was seeking a better result against Uzbekistan.

"Uzbekistan is a strong opponent, but it was not a bad performance because our players played well in the first 70 minutes of the first leg before conceding goals," Nguyen Van Sy said after a training session on November 7.

All losing goals that Vietnam conceded were in the last 20 minutes of the match, while midfielder Nguyen Trong Hoang scored the consolation goal for Vietnam.

"We will play a different match at My Dinh next week to regain faith from fans," the 42-year-old coach said.

Sy's optimism comes from the fact that he is having a team consisting of players who are in good shape with an improvement in physical fitness and performance.

"We do not have any serious injuries except for Huynh Quoc Anh, who suffers from fever. Some players displayed fine form at the BTV Cup early this month," Sy said.

Sy called goalkeepers Bui Tan Truong and To Vinh Loi, and midfielder Le Tan Tai to add to the depth of the team.

Tai missed the Tashkent's first leg due to injury.

Tai and striker Nguyen Quang Hai, both from the coastal central province of Khanh Hoa Province, joined the team yesterday, one day late, due to stormy weather in the region.

Star striker Le Cong Vinh who is busy playing for the Japanese club Sapporo on loan will not play.