With a hard-earned victory against Japan, Vietnam has climbed atop its group and advanced to the next round of the tournament.
According to VOV, on Sunday, Vietnam beat Japan 1-0 during the last match of Group D, which occurred at the Wibawa Mukti Stadium in Indonesia. The game was part of the football event of the 2018 Asian Games (ASIAD). Group D consists of Japan, Nepal, Pakistan and Vietnam. Vietnam’s national team beat all three of its groupmates after six matches to top the group.
Midfielder Nguyen Quang Hai took advantage of a lapse in Japan’s defense and scored a goal just three minutes into the match. Both teams pressed on during the second match and launched numerous attacks to no avail. Japan almost managed to balance the score in the 80th minute, but the goal was invalidated due to an offside call. After four extra minutes, the match ended.
Winning the match brought Vietnam’s total points to nine, dominating its group with three wins, six goals and no losses. According to the team’s Head Coach Park Hang-seo, the result has satisfied the team’s target of reaching the quarter-finals, but now they’re “hungry to go further.”
Moving forward, on August 23, Vietnam will play against one of the teams that came in third in Group B, E or F while Japan will face Malaysia, the top team of Group E.
The 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia official started on August 18. So far, Vietnam has earned two bronze medals in shooting and taekwondo, placing 7th overall.
[Photo via Bao Nhan Dao]
