Dung, Hai selected as best players of AFC U23 Championship
Goalkeeper Bui Tien Dung and right wing Nguyen Quang Hai of the U23 Vietnam has been picked by sports reporter Scott McIntyre of Fox Sports Asia, as two of the best players after the three-week Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U23 Championship in China was over.
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The selected players include goalkeeper Bui Tien Dung, right-back Matthew Davies of Malaysia, centre-back Dostonbek Tursumov of Uzbekistan, centre-back Gao Zhunyi of China and left-back Seo Young-Jae of the Republic of Korea; right wing Nguyen Quang Hai, central midfields Odijion Xamrobekov of Uzbekistan and Akram Atif of Qatar and left wing Wei Shihao of China; and the two forwards – Zabikhillo Urinboev of Uzbekistan and Almoez Ali of Qatar.
Scott McIntyre praised goalkeeper Bui Tien Dung, saying that Dung was obviously outstanding in the back-to-back penalty shootout wins that saw Vietnam in the final.
He also expressed his impression of right wing Nguyen Quang Hai and highlighted the sublime technical level of the player.
“Hai showed outstanding mentality and belief to come up with some massive goals when games were really on the line and with Nguyen Cong Phuong largely isolated up front, almost all of the attacks ran through the brilliant right-sided Hanoi FC man” he said.
Winning the runner-up title, Vietnamese football rose to the 77th place from the 112th in the FIFA rankings, according to Nikkei Asian Review.
What U23 Vietnam did during the tournament won the hearts of football fans and earned praise from foreign media.
Fox Sports Asia described efforts of the Vietnamese team in the final as the victory of bravery.
The sports website together with many other international media gave positive comments that Vietnamese and ASEAN footballs are able to join bigger tournaments.
Impressed by U23 Vietnam’s performance in the match with Uzbekistan, Fox Sport reporter John Duerden said that regardless of the outcome, the team were successful and 2018 will be a big year for ASEAN football.
On its homepage, the AFC highlighted that the Vietnamese footballers have lighted up the dream of tens of millions of Vietnamese fans and written a new page in the history of Vietnamese football.
