Vietnam Olympics - Bahrain Olympics: Hope for another miracle!
(Baonghean.vn) - In previous ASIADs, the Vietnam Olympic team has never made it to the quarter-finals. It is likely that Coach Park Hang Seo and his team will be able to do so in this tournament.
Boost from AFC U23 Championship
More than half a year ago, U23 Vietnam participated in the AFC U23 Championship held in China (January 2018) with the modest goal of passing the group stage. At that time, not many experts and Vietnamese football fans dared to believe that coach Park Hang Seo and his team were capable of going far in the continental arena.
Being in the same group with opponents who are considered to be of higher level such as U23 Korea, U23 Australia and U23 Syria, the chance of Xuan Truong and his teammates to enter the knockout round is extremely small. However, coach Park Hang Seo and his team have created one surprise after another.
After losing to U23 Korea (1-2) in the opening match, U23 Vietnam surprised the Asian football world when they defeated U23 Australia with the minimum score (1-0). Thanks to this victory, the opportunity to pass the group stage has become clearer for Xuan Truong and his teammates. As long as they do not lose to U23 Syria, while U23 Australia cannot beat U23 Korea, the ticket to the next round will belong to U23 Vietnam.
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| Achievements at the U23 Asian Cup are a boost for Vietnam Olympic team. Photo: Internet |
The scenario of the last two matches of the group stage was exactly as coach Park Hang Seo and his team and the home fans had hoped. U23 Vietnam held U23 Syria to a draw (0-0), while in the same match, U23 Korea defeated U23 Australia (3-2).
With that result, our team won the second place in the group (after U23 Korea) and confidently advanced to the next round. Being present in the round of 8 strongest teams is the first miracle of U23 Vietnam at the 2018 AFC U23 Championship.
The matches against U23 Korea, U23 Australia, U23 Syria helped Xuan Truong and his teammates gain more confidence. They continued to cause "earthquakes" with victories against U23 Iraq (quarter-finals), then U23 Qatar (semi-finals), after fateful penalty shootouts.
Although they could not defeat U23 Uzbekistan in the final (losing 1-2 in extra time), what coach Park Hang Seo and his team did in China made all football fans in the country extremely happy and proud.
Miracle at Asiad
The achievements at the U23 Asian Cup not only helped Vietnamese football gain more respect, even fear from opponents, but also served as a "springboard" to help Xuan Truong and his teammates perform excellently at the 18th ASIAD.
The 3 consecutive victories against Olympic Pakistan (3-0), Olympic Nepal (2-0) and Olympic Japan (1-0) are clear proof of the fighting spirit and professional level of coach Park Hang Seo and his team.
By winning a ticket to the round of 16, the Vietnam Olympic team has passed the group stage at the Asiad for the second time. Four years ago, when the tournament was held in Korea, our team also participated in the knockout round.
Defeating Olympic Iran (4-1) and Kyrgystan (1-0) in the group stage, Coach Miura and his team had to stop in the round of 16 after a 1-3 defeat to Olympic UAE. That was a very proud achievement of Olympic Vietnam at the 17th Asiad.
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| Bahrain Olympic team has no players over 21 years old. Photo: Internet |
Now, Coach Park Hang Seo and his team have repeated the feat of 4 years ago (under Coach Miura). Only having to face a relatively “lightweight” opponent, Olympic Bahrain, the opportunity to win a ticket to the quarter-finals is within reach of Van Quyet and his teammates.
In many aspects, the Vietnam Olympic team is clearly superior to the Bahrain Olympic team. In terms of age, the Bahrain Olympic team only consists of players aged 21 and under.
In addition, Bahrain Olympic team's performance in the group stage of ASIAD 18 was quite poor. They lost to South Korea Olympic team with a score of 0-6, drew with Kyrgyzstan with a score of 2-2 and only surpassed the reserve team of Malaysia Olympic team with a score of 3-2.
Based on intuition, the strength of Bahrain Olympic team is hard to compare with the army of coach Park Hang Seo. Not to mention, the past head-to-head record between the two football teams also favors Vietnam (3 wins, 1 loss).
Through the above evidence, we can affirm that the chance of winning a ticket to the quarter-finals of the Vietnam Olympic team is greater than the Bahrain Olympic team. If they defeat their opponents, Coach Park Hang Seo and his team will create a new miracle, after the miracle at the 2018 AFC U23 Championship./.
