International media highlight Vietnam’s “three-star” win at AFF Suzuki Cup

Coach Park Hang-seo and his Vietnamese players have won a lot of praise from the international media following their convincing “three-star” triumph over Laos in their Group A opener at the 2018 AFF Suzuki Cup on November 8.

Vietnamese forward Nguyen Quang Hai (no. 19) impresses with a curling freekick toward the bottom corner of the Lao goal in their Group A opener at the 2018 AFF Suzuki Cup on November 8.
Vietnamese forward Nguyen Quang Hai (no. 19) impresses with a curling freekick toward the bottom corner of the Lao goal in their Group A opener at the 2018 AFF Suzuki Cup on November 8.

* Vietnam beat Laos 3-0 in AFF Suzuki Cup opener

FOX Sports Asia ran an article covering the match between Vietnam and Laos, in which the author hailed Nguyen Cong Phuong as the best performer on the Vietnamese side, stating that the 23-year-old forward “starts from the middle of the field” and “moves wide and produced a constant threat to the Lao goal”.

The website Sportalkorea used the word “magic” to talk about Vietnam’s victory: “Park’s magic continues to begin, helping Vietnam deliver an impressive start”.

“Vietnam have demonstrated their dreadful power at the AFF Suzuki Cup. They have been emerging from the positive results at the 2018 AFC U23 Championship and the 2018 Asian Games. At present, Vietnam is ready to conquer the regional championship trophy after ten years of waiting,” it said.

Reuters also covered Vietnam’s opening AFF Cup 2018 win, stating that “Park Hang-seo’s side, who won the regional title in 2008 and are one of the pre-tournament favourites, were dominant against a Laos team that packed the defence and offered little in the attacking third.”

Thailand’s Siam Sport also applauded the performance of Park’s side against Laos: “Obviously, the 3-0 victory with goals from Cong Phuong, Anh Duc and Quang Hai shows that Vietnam are at a high level although it was far from their best”.

The home page of the AFF Cup 2018 gave special praise to forward Nguyen Quang Hai. The Vietnamese star impressed with a cunning high-level free-kick, beating the Lao wall and the goalkeeper. The AFF Cup 2018 home page stated that Quang Hai promised to be one of the most outstanding stars of this year’s tournament.