During the final minutes of Vietnam’s last two matches at the AFC U23 Championship, head coach Park Hang-seo was virtually invisible. The nerves and tension surrounding the games had become too much for the South Korean coach to take. Images of Park burying his face behind the technical area are not easy to forget, especially after the Vietnamese team made history, not once, but twice. On January 17, Vietnam’s U23 national team thrilled football fans across the country by reaching the quarterfinals of the AFC U23 for the first time ever, thanks to a goalless draw against Syria. Vietnam and Malaysia are the first Southeast Asian teams to achieve the feat. Coach Park Hang-seo can’t look in the final minutes of the match between Vietnam and Syria on January 17. Photo by VnExpress/Anh Khoa Three days later, Vietnamese fans erupted when their team kept the dream alive by reaching the semifinals thanks to a dramatic victory over Iraq. Vietnam went into the game as the underdog against the former champion, but took the lead with an early goal. Iraq equalized with a successful penalty later in the first half, and a goalless second half brought the two teams to extra time, which saw each team score twice. Vietnam finally emerged victorious in the resulting penalty shootout after successfully converting all five spot kicks. As the final penalty was being taken, coach Park had to turn away again. Talking to his team after the win against Iraq, Park said: “You deserve this. There is… [Read full story]
As a result, PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc honored the Vietnamese football players and head coach Park Hang-seo hoping that the Vietnam football team would continue harvesting goals in the coming match. Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Ngoc Thien also sent a congratulatory letter to the U23 Vietnam football team after yesterday success. The Vietnamese football team will face to the U23 Iraq team in the quarter-final round on January 20. BY NGUYEN DINH- Translated by Huyen Huong... [read more]
Coach Hoang Van Phuc has selected 26 players for the national football team meeting on Monday in Hanoi, in preparation for their match with Hong Kong in the 2015 Asian Cup qualifying round. Overseas Vietnamese players Mac Hong Quan and Michal Nguyen are among the squad. Goalkeeper Thanh Binh and centre backs Quoc Anh and Nguyen Sa of SHB Da Nang will join the team later after fulfilling their club duties in the AFC Cup against Maziya Sports today. Closely watching the style of striker Le Cong Vinh and many potential players, coach Hoang Van Phuc assured he did not…... [read more]
The Vietnam football team stand to win cash prizes of at least VND7 billion (US$360,000) if they win the Suzuki Cup, according to the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) chairman Nguyen Trong Hy. Photo: Tuoi Tre The association will give the players a prize of VND5 billion and VP Bank has promised the remaining VND2 billion. Averagely, each may get around $14,000. But there could be more since other sponsors have also promised to pitch in. The team had received VND15 billion for winning the AFF Cup two years ago. “The cash prize is a good, encouraging gesture,” the team’s coach,…... [read more]
PANO - The U23 Vietnam football team is in Group B after the drawing ceremony for the men's football tournament held by Indonesia, the host of the upcoming 26th SEA Games, in Jakarta city on October 19th. The 11 participating teams were divided into two groups; Group A includes the host Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and Cambodia while Vietnam, Myanmar, The Philippines, East Timor, Laos and Brunei are in Group B. The teams in the two Groups will start competing games on November 9th and 3rd, respectively. Accordingly, the Vietnam team will play with The Philippines on November 3rd, Myanmar…... [read more]
The Vietnamese football team was defeated by Singapore by one goal in the second match in Group A of the men's football at the 27th SEA Games, which took place at the Zeyar Thiri football stadium in Myanmar on December 10. Although the Vietnamese football players tried their best to beat Singapore, they accepted defeat against Singapore by 0-1 goals. The U23 Vietnamese football team had three points and ranked second in the men's football team in Group A after they were defeated by the Singapore team. At a disadvantage now, Vietnam football players will have to try harder when…... [read more]
