Vietnam win last ticket to Asian Cup knockout round

The Vietnamese national football team's captain Que Ngoc Hai

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. 

Lebanon showed great determination with a convincing 4-1 win against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea despite conceding the match’s opening goal. 

Earlier, fans of the “Golden Dragons” watched in regret as Oman doubled the lead in their clash with Turkmenistan when there were just seconds left on the clock to win 3-1 to book a spot in the round of 16. 

Vietnam had previously lost 2-3 to Iraq and 0-2 to Iran, but the team beat Yemen 2-0 in Group D.

Vietnam will face Jordan, the winner of Group B, in the knockout round on January 20. This is the second time Vietnam have entered the knockout round of the AFC Asian Cup after they secured a berth in the quarterfinals of the tournament in 2007.

The Jordanians are showing impressive form with a record of being undefeated so far in the AFC Asian Cup 2019. 

But, the Vietnamese have more than just hope. The last two recent clashes between Vietnam and Jordan in 2017 and 2018 ended with two draws.