Vietnam’s male football team has once again made history at a regional tournament.
Last night, millions of football fans in Vietnam took to the streets to celebrate the national team’s hard-earned victory against Syria. By beating the Middle-Eastern team 1-0, Vietnam is — for the first time in history — through to the semi-finals of the Asian Games' football event.
Vietnam and Syria had a closely matched quarter-final game at Patriot Stadium in West Java, Indonesia, with both teams making numerous attempts to score during the official 90 minutes, albeit with limited success.
However, in the 108th minute, Vietnam managed to change the course of the match when striker Nguyen Anh Duc launched a shot toward the opponent’s goal after a long ball from defender Bui Tien Dung. The ball came back off the crossbar, but striker Nguyen Van Toan deftly delivered the final kick to lob it into the unguarded net, securing Vietnam’s victory.
In the first semi-final match — which will take place this Wednesday, August 29 at 4pm (Vietnam time) — Vietnam will face defending champion South Korea, which defeated Uzbekistan during their quarter-final. Playing against Korea will be a herculean task for Vietnam, as the East Asian team has already bagged 14 goals in just four games thus far, according to Fox Sports Asia.
Vietnam’s most recent win against Syria brings to mind the unexpected triumph the national team achieved during the AFC U-23 Championship last January. Widely considered an underdog, Vietnam pulled a stunning upset by beating Iraq after a thrilling round of penalty kicks. The rest was history: the team advanced to the final after squashing Qatar only to succumb to Uzbekistan in the final game.
