>>> National pride as Vietnam advance in World Cup qualifiers
>>> Vietnam make history with first-ever slot in final round of World Cup qualifiers
Although it was impossible for them to maintain their unbeaten record at the end of the second qualifying round, the historic journey of the Vietnamese team has still been highly praised by the int’l media.
Despite losing 2-3 to the UAE in the last Group G match last night, Vietnam still won the right to continue as one of the five best second-placed teams. Park’s side ended the 2nd qualifying round with 17 points, ranked 2nd in Group G after the UAE just one point behind them. In particular, the spirit of not giving up and fighting to the end of the "Golden Star Warriors" was once again evident as Park's players fought to the death against their strong rivals.
Quang Hai and his teammates were 3-0 behind for almost of the game but played with determination in the final minutes to score two quick goals, thanks to Tien Linh and Minh Vuong, respectively, thereby only suffering a narrow 3-2 defeat – their first in the second qualifying round. Despite the defeat, the fighting spirit of Park Hang-seo's side did not disappoint the fans. More importantly, after what has been shown in their journey, they can hold their heads high and continue their journey on this continental playground.
The confrontation between the Vietnam and the UAE received a lot of attention from both experts and fans. In their post-match report, world football governing body FIFA said that the Vietnamese team fought resiliently against their stronger opponents. “The United Arab Emirates held off a resilient Vietnam side to leapfrog their opponents and win Group G… Vietnam's road to Qatar 2022 is not over, however, as Park Hang-seo's team finished as the fourth-best runner-up," FIFA said.
The impressive achievement has helped Park’s side make history. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) also noted that, despite losing their last match, this is still a historic moment for Vietnamese football. “The win means UAE dethrone Vietnam from the top spot of Group G on the final day to reach the final round of the Asian Qualifiers for the second time running, while there was joy for Vietnam despite the defeat as they advanced for the first time in their history," the AFC report read.
In the UAE, the media said that the home team had a difficult match against a very determined Vietnamese team. "The UAE had their hearts in their mouths in the dying moments of the do-or-die match after the talented Vietnam staged a spirited fightback on Tuesday night," the English-language daily Khaleej Times based in Dubai said.
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The Vietnamese team fought a spirited match against the mighty UAE. (Photo: Vietnam Football Federation)
Gulf Today shared the same view, saying that the UAE had a tough game against Vietnam, especially at the end: "Vietnam’s players tried hard to salvage some pride… Tien Linh pulled one back for the visitors but that was not enough to thwart the UAE. In the dying moments, Minh Vuong added one more to give the UAE a scare but the final whistle ended their hopes of a comeback win or a draw."
Despite losing, Vietnam were still rewarded for their fine form by sealing a spot in the final round as one of the five best runners-up. Thailand's SiamSport commented that the Vietnamese team made history as the only team in Southeast Asia to qualify for the final qualifying round of the 2022 FIFA World Cup: "Vietnam have made history! In the last match of the 2nd qualifying round, they lost 2-3 to the UAE and were ranked second in Group G with 17 points but still qualified in the group of 12 teams participating in the final qualifying round. This is the first time Vietnamese football has achieved this historic achievement. Vietnam will be the only representative of Southeast Asia in the group of 12 teams participating in the final qualifying round.”
Meanwhile, ESPN assessed this is a testament to the progress of Vietnamese football under coach Park. “Vietnam had not progressed beyond the second round of the qualifiers in their previous seven attempts, and their achievement this time, in becoming Southeast Asia's lone representatives in the third round, is a testament to the progress they have made under Park in recent years," wrote ESPN’s Adwaidh Rajan.
The author also looked back on the impressive journey of the Vietnamese team: "Coming on the back of a quarterfinal appearance in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, the Southeast Asian champions did the double over regional rivals Malaysia and Indonesia in the second round. They also registered a win against UAE in Hanoi, and were unbeaten in seven matches until their final-day defeat to the same opponents.” The ESPN reporter also said that, under Park and the coaching staff, the Vietnamese players promise to come back strongly in the third qualifying round.
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Vietnam will continue their journey in the third qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup in Asia against the strongest teams in the continent. (Photo: Asian Football Confederation)
In Park's hometown, the Korean media also praised the fighting spirit of the Vietnamese team. Jungang Ilbo's Ko Seok-hyun wrote: "After finishing the first half 0-2 behind, Vietnam conceded another goal from Mahmoud Khamis in the fifth minute of the second half, but they did not give up. Two goals from Nguyen Tien Linh and Tran Minh Vuong at the end of the match helped Vietnam narrow the gap. However, unfortunately, it was too late."
Despite losing this match, the Vietnamese team still succeeded regarding the set goal of winning a ticket to the final qualifying round. Commenting on the achievements of the Vietnamese team, the News 1 news network in Seoul wrote: "Vietnam, who are growing at a frightening pace under coach Park Hang-seo, advanced to the World Cup final qualifying round for the first time."
In the final qualifying round, the Vietnamese team will have the opportunity to compete against the top teams in the continent, including the Republic of Korea. The Korean media is thinking of an interesting scenario where the Vietnamese and Korean teams are likely to be in the same group in the final qualifying round. According to Chosun Ilbo, FIFA will base the groups on the world rankings. There are a total of six seed groups, of which, Vietnam, ranked 92nd in the FIFA rankings, will be in the final seeded group, along with Lebanon, ranked 93rd in the world. Therefore, the possibility of Vietnam falling into the same group with the Republic of Korea is likely.
As planned, the draw for the third qualifying round of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Asia will take place on June 24 at AFC headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is expected the third qualifying round will start on September 2, 2021 and end on March 29 next year.
