Vieira demands improvement in semi-finals

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BANGKOK, Jul 22 (AFP): Iraq's Brazilian coach Jorvan Vieira is far from happy despite his side cruising into the Asian Cup semi-finals with a 2-0 victory over Vietnam.
People in Baghdad and other cities in the war-torn country may have been partying with celebratory gunfire that tragically killed three people, but Vieira was not impressed with what he saw.
Looking ahead to a match-up with either Iran or South Korea in Kuala Lumpur, the Brazilian said he was expecting a vast improvement.
"We tried to do our best and qualified to go back to Malaysia and that's good for now," he said.
"But I hope we will play much better in Malaysia than we did here because it was terrible.
"The player's played too individually, they relaxed too much, especially after scoring in the first minute in the first half.
"We played too many sideways passes and didn't try to play the ball forward. Vietnam had a bad day, especially in terms of their passing.
"If their passing had been right, we would have been in trouble. We knew how they are fast, especially with their one-twos. But they had a bad day."
Match-winner Younis Mahmoud was not so downbeat, though, as he basked in the glory of his double strike.
His phone did not stop ringing after the final whistle as friends and family called him to offer their congratulations.
And he is already dreaming of a final match-up against reigning champions Japan.
"I think we played very well and all the players know we are going to Malaysia now (for the semi-finals) but we want to play Japan because they are a very good team."
Asked if he thought they could go all the way, he said: "Why not? This would be brilliant for Iraq. Already the people are very happy and so many people are calling me."
For Vieira, such a run would be just rewards for the difficulties he has faced in this job, although he was at pains to dismiss rumours he is not happy in his post.
"I never said I wasn't happy to take this job, I just mentioned that it's true for me it's the most difficult job in my 13 years as a coach," he said.
"For many reasons both on and off the field. But it's a good experience. Life is a learning process and every day we learn something and when you stop learning, you stop teaching."