Fox Sports: "Vietnam belongs in the biggest arena in Asia"

Vietnam's journey ended with a 0-1 loss to Japan. OnFox Sports, commentator Gabriel Tan wrote an article praising what coach Park Hang Seo and his team have done:

"Before the Asian Cup, Vietnamese football had no shortage of things to talk about. People talked about a rising generation that had shown its potential by finishing as runner-up in the U23 Asian Cup, about new star Nguyen Quang Hai - who continued to affirm his position among the most promising young players in Asia by leading Vietnam to the semi-finals of the Asian Games, or about the team that just ended a decade of waiting for the Southeast Asian throne by winning the AFF Cup 2018.

And, after those stories, Vietnam once again surpassed past achievements in 3 weeks of competition at the Asian Cup.

Vietnamese football has continuously delighted fans over the past year.

On the evening of January 24, Vietnam's dream had to stop with a minimal defeat in the quarterfinals against the Japanese giant. The deciding goal came from a penalty that was re-evaluated by VAR.

Certainly in terms of playing style, Japan is much more classy than Vietnam. But on the scoreboard, the difference between the team that has participated in the World Cup 6 times, won the Asian Cup 4 times and the team that is participating for the second time is only a penalty.

We cannot help but admit that Vietnam was a bit lucky to make it to the round of 16 thanks to the Fair Play index. However, Vietnam deserves praise for being in a difficult group, where they had to meet strong candidates Iran, 2007 champions Iraq and Yemen. In the first two matches that Vietnam were expected to lose, coach Park Hang-seo showed his excellent leadership skills. They took the lead twice against Iraq, then only lost 2-3 with a decisive free kick in the 90th minute. They also only lost to Iran with an acceptable score of 0-2. When meeting Yemen in the match that was predicted to win, Vietnam did not disappoint fans with a 2-0 victory.

Vietnam’s progress became more interesting when they met Jordan in the round of 16. Against the surprise team of the group stage (Jordan was also the first team to qualify for the round of 16 after defeating the defending champions Australia and Syria), Vietnam once again upset all predictions. After a 1-1 draw after 120 minutes, Park Hang-seo’s team won 4-2 in the penalty shootout.

Vietnam is the only Southeast Asian team to enter the Asian Cup quarter-finals.

That move put Vietnam in the quarterfinals against Japan. And even though they lost to stars playing in Europe such as Maya Yoshida, Yuya Osako, Yuto Nagatomo or Ritsu Doan, the "Golden Dragons" still deserved the praise.

When Vietnam returns home, they will have more stories to tell. And those stories will not only be less speculative, but also more affirmative. Vietnam has proven that they belong in the biggest arena in Asia.

Let's keep talking about how Coach Park Hang-seo develops young players. Let's keep talking about the generation of Quang Hai, Cong Phuong, Van Hau who are capable of playing in Europe after a few years. Let's keep talking about how Vietnam is the current King of Southeast Asian football, even far ahead of the rest. Let's keep talking until Vietnam once again has to prove they belong on the big stage, which we won't have to wait too long for. On September 5, the 2022 World Cup qualifiers for the Asian region will begin."

Fans will continue to wait for the day when the Vietnamese team reunites with the Asian giants.