Ho Chi Minh City: Coach Bruno Garcia believes Vietnam must play a perfect game if they are to beat 10-time winners Iran in their AFC Futsal Championship quarter-final on Wednesday.

After suffering an opening defeat to Iraq, the hosts turned their fortunes around by beating Tajikistan 10-4 and Kuwait 2-1 to secure a first-ever appearance in the knockout stage.

But after a mistake from goalkeeper Dang Phuoc Anh allowed Abdulrahman Al Mosabehi to score for Kuwait with five seconds remaining on Sunday, Vietnam slipped down to second place in Group A on goal difference to set-up a difficult quarter-final at Phu Tho Stadium.

“I am very happy to be playing in the quarter-finals for the first time in our history, and for us it is like a final,” said Spanish-born coach Garcia, who had only been with the national side for two months prior to the tournament.

“My group have gained confidence game-by-game and we will try to prepare and rest for this game as we know the difficulty of the task.

“The opponents are a strong team, but all eight teams who qualify for the quarter-finals are very strong and we need to play the perfect game to win.

“In sport you have to think you always have a chance, or if you don’t, you might as well go home.”

Iran, who were forced to settle for a third place finish two years ago in the United Arab Emirates, are the only team left in the tournament with a 100% record.

Jesus Candelas’ side booked their place in the last eight with an 8-1 victory over Australia having earlier recorded wins over Indonesia and China, with Iran having scored 25 goals and conceded just two in their three games in Group B.

“From now on all the matches are finals for me,” said Iran coach Candelas.

“I said before the tournament began that Vietnam had the capacity to be in the final two, and this is still the case.

“We want to get better through the tournament, but we are not feeling that we are at our best yet.”

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Hosts Vietnam can hardly beat Iran in their quarterfinal match on Wednesday at the 2014 Asian Futsal Championship, Spanish coach Jesus Candelas of the Iranian team told Tuoi Tre newspaper during an interview on Monday.

What is your assessment of the strengths of the Vietnamese team?

Coach Jesus Candelas: I think Vietnam can hardly defeat Iran because of a big gap in the quality between the two teams. However, the chance to win the game still depends on the performance of Vietnam.

The hosts have wonderful fans. I saw how they cheerfully supported their home team in Vietnam’s match with Kuwait on Sunday. It is an advantage for Vietnam to face us.

In their 1-2 loss to Iraq and 2-1 win over Kuwait last week, Vietnam staged a better performance in group coordination, speed, and flexibility. Also, the Vietnamese displayed good defense in the Kuwait match by quickly filling in the gap after losing control of the ball.

I am impressed by two Vietnamese players: Phung Trong Luan (wearing the number 7 jersey) and Ton That Phi (wearing the number 14 jersey). They can make fast attacks along the wings.

Which team will be able to challenge Iran at this tournament?

I think highly of Japan, Thailand, and Vietnam. Thailand beat Iran in the semifinal round of the 2012 Asian Futsal Championship.

What would be your advice for Vietnam when they target a spot in Asia’s top four and a place in the FIFA Futsal World Cup in the coming time?

The Vietnamese team has made progress. You have qualified coaches Bruno Garcia and Antonio ‘Zego’ Jesus, who are all my friends.

I think Vietnam should focus on organizing the country’s national futsal league to have more good players and on holding international friendly tournaments for players to train and gain experience.

What is the biggest difference in futsal between Spain and Asia?

It is the players’ ability to judge and process situations. Asian players are fast in dribbling the ball but not as fast as South American and Spanish players in judging and processing specific circumstances.

Futsal is a game of speed so the judging and processing capability is very important. That’s why South American futsal is leading the world.