Asian Newspaper: Let's wait for a Vietnamese national team in a bigger playground

The dream of writing another miracle for Vietnamese football has officially ended after a 0-1 loss to the “blue samurai”. The only goal of the match was scored by Doan Ritsu from the 11m penalty spot.

Obviously, in terms of the balance of power, Japan is considered superior to its Vietnamese opponent. The Japanese are very good at making their opponents play their way thanks to their superior ball handling and tactical thinking. They can increase the rhythm of the match, speeding up when leading smoothly.

But, if you look at the final scoreboard, the difference between a team that has participated in 6 World Cup finals and won the Asian Cup 4 times and a team that is only participating in the Asian Cup for the 2nd time is just a penalty situation.

Journalist Gabriel Tan believes in a bright future for Vietnamese football. Photo: AFC

Even if Vietnam were lucky on their way to the round of 16 of this year's tournament. They entered the list of the 4 best third-placed teams thanks to being penalized with 2 fewer yellow cards than Lebanon, their opponents with the same points and goal difference after the group stage, then what they have done, the "golden stars" still deserve praise. Remember, Vietnam was placed in a difficult and challenging group. That is the number 1 candidate Iran and Iraq, the team that won the championship in 2007, the remaining team is Yemen.

Vietnam national football team had a miraculous journey at the 2019 Asian Cup. Photo: AFC

The first two matches, they predicted they would lose. However, despite losing, Coach Park Hang-seo's students still made their opponents truly respect. Especially in the match against Iraq. They took the lead twice against Iraq and finally accepted defeat thanks to Ali Adhan's last-minute 3-2 goal. They completed their group stage mission with a 2-0 win over Yemen before expecting their competitors in the other groups to stumble.

This was followed by a superb performance against Jordan in the round of 16. The first team to reach the round of 16, winning both matches against Australia and Syria. The Reds continued their miracle by beating Jordan 4-2 on penalties to confidently advance to the quarter-finals against Japan.

Asian journalists believe that Vietnamese football will progress further in the future. Photo: AFC

The Japanese team, which is full of stars playing in Europe such as Maya Yoshida, Yuya, Osako and Yuto Nagatomo, overcame their opponents from Southeast Asia with a hard-fought penalty. The Vietnamese team made everyone look at them in a completely different light after their performance against the heaviest test, Japan.

The “Golden Stars” have proven that they belong on the continent’s big stage. What does it take for them to continue to show they are on par with the top teams in Asia?

That is, Mr. Park Hang-seo should continue to accompany Vietnamese football. Players like Quang Hai, Cong Phuong, Van Hau should go to Europe to play for a few years. Let's wait for a Vietnamese national team to once again be present in a bigger playground.

On September 5, the 2022 World Cup qualifiers will begin.