Vietnam’s national team has enjoyed huge success in recent years, and now the nation’s club teams are making significant progress too.
Hanoi FC will compete in the zonal finals of the AFC Cup for the first time in their history after knocking out Filipino team Ceres-Negros in the semi-finals over two legs. They will now play southern Vietnamese team Becamex Binh Duong in the final.
According to Fox Sports Asia, Hanoi FC were in control of the semi-final’s second leg from the start, securing a routine 2-1 victory to take them into the final.
The route to the final of the entire tournament is convoluted and complicated. Teams first enter a group stage and compete against other club teams from their region. Vietnamese teams played against other ASEAN clubs.
The winner of the group stages then enters the zonal finals and then inter-zonal finals, where winning teams from each region enter a knockout stage. The ultimate final of the entire competition doesn’t take place until November 2.
The Vietnamese Football Federation has rewarded both Hanoi FC and Becamex Binh Duong VND300 million for reaching the zonal final.
[Photo via Football-Tribe]
