Srecko Katanec admits he made mistakes in Iraq’s dramatic 3-2 win over Vietnam on Tuesday as the Middle East side opened their 2019 Asian Cup campaign.
A very late Ali Adnan free-kick inflicted a 3-2 defeat on Vietnam at Zayed Sports City Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.
Vietnam went into the tournament with an enviable record of not losing 18 international matches on the trot – a run which stretched back to 2017 and was the longest active unbeaten streak in international football.
An Ali Faez Atiyah own goal gave Vietnam the lead in Abu Dhabi, but 18-year-old Mohanad Ali, the tournament’s youngest player, equalised 11 minutes later.
Nguyen Cong Phuong put the Golden Dragons 2-1 up at the break, but Iraq came back again after the break with Humam Tariq levelling on the hour before Adnan’s stoppage time free-kick.
“I know that we will be growing up during the tournament, so I hope that the second game we will be better,” said Iraq’s Slovenian coach Katanec.
Watch what he had to say in full here.
