Vietnam 1-1 Iraq: Cruel final seconds

Cong Vinh opened the scoring for Vietnam but the away team equalized from the penalty spot when extra time had expired.

Vietnam's draw was regrettable but it was a successful result for the red team. Photo: Duc Dong.

When the final whistle blew, Le Cong Vinh burst into tears. Why and for whom? Was he crying because he scored? Or because of the missed opportunities? Or maybe because Vietnam almost caused an earthquake? Or was it regret that the home team lost the victory in the last seconds?... All are unclear. But one thing is certain: those tears, and the sweat of his teammates, are precious.

Looking at the balance of power before the match, Vietnam was rated much lower than Iraq, who won the Asian Cup in 2007, but once again nothing is impossible in football. Coach Toshiya Miura's students played a suicidal, intelligent match and led until the sixth minute of injury time, before being punished with a cruel penalty for Thanh Hien's handball. Mahmoud then scored the equalizer for Iraq, 1-1.

With only one point, Vietnam is still ranked third in Group F with four points, but is full of confidence to welcome the top team Thailand on October 13. Coach Miura and his team are three points behind the Golden Temple team and one point behind Iraq.

In the match on the evening of October 8, Coach Miura continued to apply his familiar defensive counter-attacking style of play. The Vietnamese team proactively retreated deep into their home field but did not passively deploy the ball. The players in red caught Iraq off guard and then suddenly launched a quick attack with only a few players.

The opening goal was typical of the football coach Miura is building. Huy Hung flicked the ball from his own field for Trong Hoang to run down, hold the ball and pass it to Cong Vinh before the Iraqi net shook. The attack was quite simple with just a long pass and two players up front.

In Vietnam's most dangerous situations afterwards, not many players were needed. The two confrontations between Mac Hong Quan and Cong Vinh both came after counter-attacks with few touches and the ball was circulated as quickly as possible.

Duy Manh (right) plays fiercely but not without intelligence. Photo: Duc Dong.

One of the factors that made the difference for Vietnam in this match was that Coach Miura used a pair of young midfielders from Hanoi T&T, Duy Manh and Huy Hung. These two players not only possess good physical strength and fighting ability, but also have accurate passes to help quickly move the ball up to the strikers.

Goalkeeper Nguyen Manh also deserved praise in this match with a series of excellent saves. Most notably was his miraculous reflex in the 59th minute, saving the ball right on the goal line after a header from striker Ahmed Gheni.

In the final minutes, Coach Miura surprised many people when he used all three substitutions to bring in attacking players. The Japanese strategist's decision almost paid off when one of the three players, Phi Son, assisted Cong Vinh to run down and face the ball in the 86th minute.

Cong Vinh collapsed after missing the chance to score the second goal against Iraq. Photo: Duc Dong.

Iraq also has the right to regret this match. The away team had many chances but their strikers were unlucky. Free kicks, headers, long shots, even shots just a few meters from the goal, but the Iraqi players were all unsuccessful.

However, it seemed that Iraq's bad luck was compensated in the final seconds. When the time had passed five minutes of extra time, a chaotic situation in the 16m50 box sent the ball hitting Thanh Hien's hand. Many Vietnamese players collapsed when they saw the Australian referee pointing to the 11m mark.

Failing to gain all three points, Vietnam lost the chance to surpass Iraq to move up to second place. However, coach Miura and his team still have a chance if they continue to play hard in the match against Thailand in five days.

Starting lineup

Vietnam:Nguyen Manh, Thanh Hien, Tien Thanh, Tien Duy, Xuan Thanh, Trong Hoang, Duy Manh, Huy Hung, Huy Toan, Hong Quan, Cong Vinh.

Goal:Cong Vinh (25')

Iraq:Noor Sabri, Al Shabbani, Mejbel, Ismael, Shakir, Ali Adnan, Kasim, Yaseen Gheni, Abdulameer, Younis Mahmoud, Hikmat Azeez.

Goal:Mahmoud (penalty 90'+6)

Group F - 2018 World Cup Qualifiers Round Two

According to VNE