FIFA hail Vietnamese victory in World Cup qualifiers

VOV.VN - Football’s world governing body FIFA have hailed the Vietnamese national team after they made history by progressing to the final round of World Cup qualifiers for the first time.

In an article titled “Vietnam make history as last-12 finalised in Asia”, FIFA state that Vietnam have so far proved to be the biggest surprise packages by sealing a spot in the third qualification round.

“Uzbekistan, conversely, were eliminated in unexpected fashion after losing to Saudi Arabia on the final matchday. Meanwhile, Iran, China and the UAE all overcame erratic form early in this campaign with a strong finish to progress,” the website add.

According to FIFA, having reached the last eight of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, Vietnam have continued to make progress on the continental stage under head coach Park Hang-seo.

“Entering the back-end of the campaign as group leaders, Vietnam registered back-to-back victories against Indonesia and Malaysia and advanced as one of the best second placed finishers, despite narrowly losing to hosts the UAE 3-2 in the final match,” FIFA note.

Whilst a host of players have stepped into the spotlight as they helped their respective teams through to the next stage, FIFA also give special praise to 23-year-old striker Nguyen Tien Linh. The Vietnamese forward scored four goals during the previous qualifying round, including scoring the match-winning goal in the first-leg meeting against the UAE to help his side progress.

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