Speaking after the quarter-final match of the National Cup 2025-2026 with Truong Tuoi Dong Nai on the evening of March 20, coach Le Huynh Duc highly appreciated the fighting spirit of his students: "From the previous match, the players played enthusiastically, the spirit was better, more united". This coach said that the improvement in attitude and cohesion helped the team overcome the difficult match.
Speaking about the performance of the overseas Vietnamese players, he frankly commented that Lee Williams was not in his best physical condition. Meanwhile, Ngo Dang Khoa - the only goal scorer - was assessed by him as the most outstanding factor in the match: "Lee has not shown much, his fitness is not guaranteed, and he is injured. Ngo Dang Khoa is the most outstanding player today.
Notably, coach Le Huynh Duc also spoke out about Tien Linh's situation of giving the penalty kick to Ngo Dang Khoa. He said this was a reasonable decision: "I think Tien Linh thinks Khoa deserved the penalty, that is Khoa's effort.
Faced with the pressure of public opinion surrounding Tien Linh's continued "silence", Mr. Duc suggested reducing attention: "Don't keep mentioning it. If players don't score, we encourage them, try to train them to regain their form. It's not easy to be noticed too much, the more you want to show it, the harder it becomes. So stop, need to be calm and I will support Linh a lot".
He also emphasized that for a striker, going through a difficult period is normal: "Forwards have moments like that, don't worry. As long as the team wins.
With winning a ticket to the semi-finals, coach Le Huynh Duc affirmed that the goal of Ho Chi Minh City Police is to go as far as possible: "After reaching the semi-finals, every team wants to go to the final match. This is a Cup, there is only winning and losing, we will try our best".
