Vietnam overcame Kuwait 2-1 on May 4 to finish second in group A and setup a quarterfinal game against Iran at the ongoing Asian FutsalChampionship held at the Phu Tho Stadium in Ho Chi Minh City.
LeQuoc Nam broke the deadlock for the hosts in the 17th minute, deflectinghome Phung Trong Luan's shot from the left wing. Luan doubled theadvantage four minutes into the second half with a low shot past Kuwaiticustodian Hani Mhisen.
Abdulrahman Almosabehi pulled one goalback for Kuwait just five seconds from time to help his team top group Aand win a quarterfinal clash against Australia.
"We are veryhappy because this is the first time in Vietnam's futsal history thatthe country has reached the last eight," Vietnam's Spanish coach BrunoFormoso said at the post-match press conference.
Kuwait's coachLuis Fonseca, also a Spaniard, said he was impressed with the supportprovided by Vietnamese fans. They had a strong influence on the game, hesaid.
"If the match was played in an empty stadium, we couldhave beaten Vietnam, but the Vietnamese fans really put a lot ofpressure on my players. It was wonderful to see the way fans cheer theirteam," Fonseca said.
Other Group A teams Iraq and Tajikistan were eliminated from the tournament.
Inthe previous match at the same venue, 10-time champions Iran showed whythey were title favourites with an 8-1 thrashing of Australia.
Irantopped group B, winning all their three games. Having failed to win thetrophy in two recent tournaments after lifting the trophy 10 times in arow since 1999, they will fancy their chances of lifting the trophythis year.
Refusing to be drawn into comparing this tournamentwith their previous experiences, Iran's Spanish coach Jesus Candelassaid: "What happens now is important for us."
Despite losing thematch, Australia finished in second place in their group with wins overChina and Indonesia, earning a meeting with group A toppers Kuwait.
"Itis a long shot for all the other teams, not just Australia, to win thechampionships because Iran is a very strong team. They rank sixth in theworld. Japan is also a strong team," said Australia's coach Steven JohnKnight.-VNA
LeQuoc Nam broke the deadlock for the hosts in the 17th minute, deflectinghome Phung Trong Luan's shot from the left wing. Luan doubled theadvantage four minutes into the second half with a low shot past Kuwaiticustodian Hani Mhisen.
Abdulrahman Almosabehi pulled one goalback for Kuwait just five seconds from time to help his team top group Aand win a quarterfinal clash against Australia.
"We are veryhappy because this is the first time in Vietnam's futsal history thatthe country has reached the last eight," Vietnam's Spanish coach BrunoFormoso said at the post-match press conference.
Kuwait's coachLuis Fonseca, also a Spaniard, said he was impressed with the supportprovided by Vietnamese fans. They had a strong influence on the game, hesaid.
"If the match was played in an empty stadium, we couldhave beaten Vietnam, but the Vietnamese fans really put a lot ofpressure on my players. It was wonderful to see the way fans cheer theirteam," Fonseca said.
Other Group A teams Iraq and Tajikistan were eliminated from the tournament.
Inthe previous match at the same venue, 10-time champions Iran showed whythey were title favourites with an 8-1 thrashing of Australia.
Irantopped group B, winning all their three games. Having failed to win thetrophy in two recent tournaments after lifting the trophy 10 times in arow since 1999, they will fancy their chances of lifting the trophythis year.
Refusing to be drawn into comparing this tournamentwith their previous experiences, Iran's Spanish coach Jesus Candelassaid: "What happens now is important for us."
Despite losing thematch, Australia finished in second place in their group with wins overChina and Indonesia, earning a meeting with group A toppers Kuwait.
"Itis a long shot for all the other teams, not just Australia, to win thechampionships because Iran is a very strong team. They rank sixth in theworld. Japan is also a strong team," said Australia's coach Steven JohnKnight.-VNA
