Vietnamese players throw their head coach Park Hang-seo in the air to celebrate their AFC U23 Championship semi-final match against Qatar on January 23 in China. (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi(VNS/VNA) - Vietnam and Uzbekistan were not title candidates at the ongoingAsian Football Confederation (AFC) U-23 Championship.
However, both of themhave put up some awesome competition to seal their places in the goldmedal-winning match in China on January 27.
Uzbekistan from theCentral Asian region suffered a 0-1 defeat to Qatar in their opening game ofGroup A. They then came back strongly to grab a 1-0 win over the hosts beforebeating Oman with the same score later.
With six points,Uzbekistan was placed second behind Qatar and booked a berth to the knock-outstage.
Awaiting them in thequarter-finals was defending champion Japan, the biggest obstacle for any teamin the event in China.
The young Samurai Bluecame to the tournament with the highest determination to prevent their crownfrom being taken away. They proved their power with their top place in Group Bwith all three wins from three matches and conceded only one goal on their wayto the final eight.
The reason forUzbekistan to believe in a win was their belief and a victory at the 2017 M-150Cup in Thailand in which Japan lost to them on penalties.
However, the Uzbeks didan amazing job. They hammered the reigning champions with a comfortablethree-goal lead within 39 minutes, before Jasurbek Yakhshiboev sealed acomprehensive 4-0 win after the break.
They sent Japan homeearlier than anyone could expect.
Their next rival was theRepublic of Korea (RoK) who topped Group D with seven points before beatingMalaysia 2-1 in the quarter-finals.
Despite theiroutstanding performance, the 2016 championship’s first runner-up, who everyonebelieved could stop Uzbekistan’s journey, suffered the same fate as Japan.
Coach RavshanKhaydarov’s side defeated the 10-man RoK 4-1 with Azizjon Ganiev creating a superbstrike from a 27m distance in extra time of the second semi-final match.
Their match was so goodthat coach Khaydarov praised his players with the most beautiful words.
“My players did theirmaximum, it was their best performance of this tournament. We were strongtactically and physically,” he said on the-afc.com.
On their way to thefinal, Uzbekistan have scored 10 goals and conceded two. Their best scorer isJasurbek Yakhshiboev who netted thrice.
On the other side,Vietnam has had to work hard to reach their final but they deserved it for whatthey had contributed.
Vietnam was one of the threeteams from ASEAN qualifying for the tournament. The only survivor now receivesstrong support from the whole region as they have been congratulated as thepride of Southeast Asia.
Vietnam was placed inthe ‘Group of Death’ with three powerhourses of the RoK, Australia and Syria.
The draw worried thewhole nation and everyone thought they would make an early exit.
However, coach ParkHang-seo and his players did not. The underdogs opened their remarkable journeywith a 1-2 loss to the RoK in which midfielder Nguyen Quang Hai surprisinglyscored an opener. It was a match where despite losing, the team showed offtheir great potential, said Vietnamese experts.
Yes, they did.
In the next two games,they beat Australia 1-0 and tied powerful Syria in a goalless draw. They werethe Group D’s runners-up and advanced to the quarter-finals to face formerchampions Iraq.
The two sides played aremarkable chasing game which ended 3-3 in official time.
Vietnamese goalkeeperBui Tien Dung made an impressive move to deny Iraqi Bashar Resan’s kick duringthe penalty shootout and his team won 5-3 to advance to the last-four phase.
History was repeatedwhen Vietnam again led the semi-final against Qatar to the penalties. Goalie Dungagain saved two penalties in a 4-3 shootout success that came after 120 minutesof football had produced a 2-2 draw. It was the fourth time he stopped hisrivals at the goal mouth in this tournament.
Vietnam made not onlyAsia but also Europe keep a close eye on them. They have made headlinesinternationally.
“I told all my 23players to put up a tremendous fight and that they should not disappoint thepeople of Vietnam. They did not let them down,” said Park after his side’ssemi-final win, adding that he still had secrets to reveal in the final.
After five matches, theVietnamese team have scored seven goals and conceded seven. Their midfielder Haihas pocketed four goals and ranked second in the chart of best scorer behindAlmoez Ali of Qatar who has six but could not score more.
Vietnamese fans alsomade impressive images at the tournament as they were the largest group ofsupporters at stadiums from the group round to the semi-finals.
Statistics said the mostcrowded match saw more than 1,000 spectators and Vietnamese made up half ofthose bringing flags, drums and their wonderful cheering all the time.-VNA
However, coach ParkHang-seo and his players did not. The underdogs opened their remarkable journeywith a 1-2 loss to the RoK in which midfielder Nguyen Quang Hai surprisinglyscored an opener. It was a match where despite losing, the team showed offtheir great potential, said Vietnamese experts.
Yes, they did.
In the next two games,they beat Australia 1-0 and tied powerful Syria in a goalless draw. They werethe Group D’s runners-up and advanced to the quarter-finals to face formerchampions Iraq.
The two sides played aremarkable chasing game which ended 3-3 in official time.
Vietnamese goalkeeperBui Tien Dung made an impressive move to deny Iraqi Bashar Resan’s kick duringthe penalty shootout and his team won 5-3 to advance to the last-four phase.
History was repeatedwhen Vietnam again led the semi-final against Qatar to the penalties. Goalie Dungagain saved two penalties in a 4-3 shootout success that came after 120 minutesof football had produced a 2-2 draw. It was the fourth time he stopped hisrivals at the goal mouth in this tournament.
Vietnam made not onlyAsia but also Europe keep a close eye on them. They have made headlinesinternationally.
“I told all my 23players to put up a tremendous fight and that they should not disappoint thepeople of Vietnam. They did not let them down,” said Park after his side’ssemi-final win, adding that he still had secrets to reveal in the final.
After five matches, theVietnamese team have scored seven goals and conceded seven. Their midfielder Haihas pocketed four goals and ranked second in the chart of best scorer behindAlmoez Ali of Qatar who has six but could not score more.
Vietnamese fans alsomade impressive images at the tournament as they were the largest group ofsupporters at stadiums from the group round to the semi-finals.
Statistics said the mostcrowded match saw more than 1,000 spectators and Vietnamese made up half ofthose bringing flags, drums and their wonderful cheering all the time.-VNA
VNA
