HANOI, Dec 28 ― National head coach, Kim Pan Gon said Vietnam was a better team in the clash in which Malaysia lost 0-3 and apologised after failing to deliver the success fans had hoped for.

Pan Gon who spoke after their 2022 Asean Football Federation (AFF Cup) Group B match at the My Dinh National Stadium, here hinted indirectly that Vietnam was the better side today.

"But for the Harimau Malaya side, I think they tried their best, they followed the instructions of the coaching staff and in the first half, we made one mistake during a corner kick but the rest was all under control.

"There was a chance to win tonight but I don’t know what happened, I need to go back and see. I have no complaints about the players and maybe if I did wrong we will review to correct something before the Singapore clash,” he said during the post-match press conference here.

Commenting further on the Singapore clash at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil on Jan 3, the South Korean coach said: "We have no time to sit back, we will quickly recover and plan well for the Singapore game.”

Vietnam's three goals were scored by Nguyen Tien Linh in the 29th minute, Que Ngoc Hai through a penalty kick (64th minute) and Nguyen Hoang Duc in the 83rd minute.

The victory in the controversial match which saw Japanese referee Ryuji Sato issuing two red cards, Vietnam maintained their unbeaten record against Malaysia in all competitions since 2014.

Meanwhile, Vietnam head coach Park Hang Seo felt that Malaysia had no reason to complain about the result, especially the controversial penalty and sending off for an apparent foul outside of the playing area on Doan Van Hau.

The South Korean insisted that football is a sport with rules and any player who commits an offence will be punished.

"Football is a sport where we have to do what we can to win, but football also has rules. So, if you break the rules, you will be punished,” he said. ― Bernama