Dumbfounded UAE coach Dr Abdullah Misfer admitted he had never experienced anything like Wednesday night’s topsy-turvy win against Vietnam which saw his side top Group D in the 2016 AFC U-23 Championship.
The Whites suffered several early injuries and twice went behind before Al Jazira forward Ahmed Al Attas settled the contest from the penalty spot.
“During my career as a coach, I have not seen events like that happen in the match,” said the ex-Al Dhafra supremo, ahead of Saturday’s quarter-final meeting with Iraq. “An injury at the beginning of the game forced substitutions, goals scored in that way.
“But what is most important is we got the result we were seeking. We played a strong game against Australia and Jordan and maybe the players felt a little tired.”
The defeat saw nine-man Vietnam’s dream of qualification for the Rio 2016 Olympics end without a point being registered.
Coach Toshiya Miura was frustrated by the loss in Doha. He said: “I am disappointed with the result. We had to win and in that kind of situation our players do not have enough experience.”
