VietNamNet Bridge – For the first time the Japan Football Association (JFA) has invited the Vietnamese national football squad to play a friendly game v.s the Japanese team on October 7 in Kobe.


The last game between Vietnam and Japan was at Asian Cup 2007,
 in Hanoi. Vietnam lost 1-4 in that match.
“This is a good sign for the increasing value of Vietnamese football,” says an official from the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF).

After the 2-1 victory against Qatar in Hanoi in the second-leg game of the second qualifier round of World Cup 2014, German coach Falko Goetz and his team is believed to make surprise in the upcoming friendly game.

The last game between Vietnam and Japan was at Asian Cup 2007, in Hanoi. Vietnam lost 1-4 in that match.

The VFF sees this is a good opportunity for the Vietnamese team to learn from Japan, one of the top football teams in Asia.

As the game will take place when the V-League 2011 closes, the best Vietnamese players will be convened.

The Japanese team’s current coach is Alberto Zaccheroni, which is very famous and experienced, who led AC Milan, Juventus and Inter Milan.

In the upcoming game, coach Zaccheroni plans to summon the most outstanding players, including those who are playing in Europe - Usami (Bayern Munich), Takashi Inui (Bochum), Shinji Kagawa (Dormund), Okazaki (Stuttgart) and Ienaga (Mallorca).

Early this year, Japan won the Asian championship. Several months ago, it defeated Argentina in a friendly game. The team trounced South Korea 3-0 in another friendly match on August 10. It presently ranks 16th on FIFA’s ranking, behind France.

After the friendly game v.s Vietnam, Japan will enter the third qualifier round of World Cup 2014. In this round, it will play against North Korea, Uzbekistan and Syria.

PV