The Russian futsal team leads Group B after 3 consecutive wins against Egypt, Uzbekistan and Guatemala. The Vietnam futsal team is ranked 3rd in Group D, behind Brazil and the Czech Republic. This is the second consecutive time Russia has met Vietnam in the round of 16 of the FIFA Futsal World Cup.
In the 2016 tournament, Russia beat Vietnam 7-0. At that time, Sergei Skorovich also led the country's team. In addition, a series of Russian players who participated in the 2016 World Cup will continue to participate this year such as Lima, Chishkala, Abramov, Milovanov...
"Vietnam is a team that plays mobile and fast, like many Asian teams. They are well organized, the players do not move the ball effectively. In the attacks, the Vietnamese team has a number of key players who know how to escape the pressure, they can also use a 4-0 system. They have the ability to create explosive moves, detecting the opponent's weaknesses. In a defensive position, they looked for quick counter-attacking options. In addition, they also have a good goalkeeper," said coach Sergei Skorovich.
The Vietnam - Russia futsal match will take place at 9:30 p.m. (Vietnam time) on September 22. In addition to the 0-7 loss at the 2016 World Cup, the Vietnamese team also lost 2-6 to Russia at a friendly tournament in China on June 27, 2018. However, according to information from the Russian Football Federation, in the 2018 match, Russia only used the U21 team, although the army at that time was still led by Sergei Skorovich.
Russia can welcome back pivo Lima in the match against Vietnam. He had 2 training sessions with the home team after not competing in the group stage. Coach Skorovich also did not forget to mention the 7-0 victory over Vietnam in 2016. According to him at that time, the Russian team scored an early goal, and all the pillars played effectively. He hopes the whole team can repeat the success of 5 years ago.
Although he is rated much higher than the Vietnamese team, the Russian coach is not subjective. He and his colleagues had ice surgery, carefully researched the playing style of Mr. Pham Minh Giang and his team and included it in the exercises.
Skorovich emphasized that Russia's goal is to reach the final. Therefore, he requires his students to maintain collective strength, play focused and especially not make mistakes in the knockout matches, starting from the match against Vietnam.
