Relive Vietnamese team’s historic journey at AFC Asian Cup 2019
VOV.VN - The Vietnamese national team achieved their best ever result with a eighth place finish at AFC Asian Cup 2019, let’s look back at their historic journey in the games through 5 matches:
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| Vietnam lost 2-3 to Iraq in their first match of Group D in the AFC Asian Cup 2019, which took place in Zayed Sport City Stadium in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), on January 8. |
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| Under pressure of Vietnam’s attacks, Iraqi defender Ali Faez Atia scored an own goal, opening the score for Vietnam. Cong Phuong restored the lead for the Southeast Asian team in the 42nd with a tap-in after a rebound from Trong Hoang's right-winged shot. The first half ended after three added minutes with Vietnam leading 2-1. |
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| However, Iraq equalized the score in the 35th, 60th and 90th minute. The match ended 3-2 in favour of Iraq. |
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| Vietnam is pooled with Iran, Iraq and Yemen in Group D of the AFC Asian Cup 2019. |
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| Vietnam suffered a 0-2 defeat to Iran, which was seen as the strongest team in Group D, in their second encounter at the AFC Asian Cup in the UAE on January 12. |
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| The first half ended after one extra minute, with a goal scored by forward Sardar Azmoun of Iran in the 37th minute. |
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| In the second half, Vietnam showed a defence mistake and Sardar Azmoun scored the double with a simple finish in the 69th minute. The match concluded with a 0-2 score in favour of Iran. This is Vietnam’s second loss in the group stage. |
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| Vietnam still have a chance to advance to the knockout stage at the Asian Cup 2019 if they win three points against Yemen in the last match of the group stage and score as many goals as possible. |
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| The national team defeated Yemen 2-0 in their final match of Group D in the UAE on January 16 and remained hopeful of a place in the knockout stages of the Asian Cup. |
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| Vietnam secured the last ticket to the knockout round of the AFC Asian Cup 2019 in the UAE after narrowly qualified over Lebanon on fair-play points. |
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| Lebanon showed great determination with a convincing 4-1 win against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Both Vietnam and Lebanon had three points after three group matches and the same goal difference of -1. However, Vietnam accumulated five yellow cards as compared to seven of Lebanon. Vietnam faced Jordan, the winner of Group B, in the knockout round on January 20. |
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| Both Vietnam and Jordan finished the official 90 minutes of the match with a 1-1 draw, in which Vietnam conceded a goal in the first half and gradually scored an equalizer in the second. Into the extra times, the two sides played cautiously but by no means dully although the players’ health went down considerably. |
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| Vietnam secured a 4-2 on penalty shootout victory over Jordan to book their place in the quarter-finals of the Asian Cup. |
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| The national team played Japan in the quarter-finals of Asian Cup on January 24. They played well and Vietnam drew with Japan in the first half. |
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| Vietnam conceded only one goal from a 57th-minute penalty kick, determined by the help of the video assistance referee (VAR) technology. |
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| After conceding the goal, Vietnam kept fighting and showed no signs of giving up while creating various chances against their Japanese rivals, Japan came out the victorious of the matchup. |
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| In the closing minutes, Vietnam stepped up their game in search of an equaliser but was unable to pull it due to the strong Japanese defense. |
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| Vietnam’s head coach Park Hang-seo has praised his Vietnamese football players for their exploits at the ongoing 2019 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup, saying Vietnam’s run to the quarterfinals was a great result. |
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| Talking about the future of the Vietnamese team, coach Park said "I think they have a bright future”. |
