The national team hasn’t lost a game since the World Cup 2022 qualification round started.
On November 14, the Vietnam men's football team played the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the second round of the Asian section of the World Cup 2022 qualifiers, in which 40 higher-ranked teams are divided into eight groups to play home and away round-robin matches.
About 39 minutes into the match, UAE defender Khalifa Al Hammadi received a red card for a foul against Vietnam striker Nguyen Tien Linh. Five minutes later, Nguyen Tien Linh received the ball 25 meters out from the goalp and scored the match's only goal on a perfect strike, securing Vietnam's victory, Tuoi Tre reports.
The win brought Vietnam an additional three points in the group ranking, which ups Vietnam's position to first place in Group G. Vietnam has another four matches in the second round, against Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and one more against UAE.
Eight group winners and four best runner-ups in the second round will advance to the third round of the World Cup 2022 qualifiers, where the teams will be divided into two groups to play home and away round-robin matches. The four best teams from the third round will qualify for the World Cup, while teams that come in third will compete in the fourth round. The winner of the fourth round will advance to an inter-confederation play-off to compete for the two final qualification spots.
Vietnam will play against Thailand on Tuesday, November 19 in Hanoi.
[Photo via Vietnamplus]
