U-23 Vietnam (Source AFC) Hanoi (VNA) – The Asian FootballConfederation described Vietnam as “penalty kings” in a recent article reviewingthe three-week AFC U-23 Championship in Changzhou, China, in which Vietnambecame the first Southeast Asian team to enter the continental tournament’sfinals.
[♈Football success a result of long-term investments]
“Vietnam led the way on penalties conceded bygiving away three, two of which were converted, in their six games,” said thearticle titled “The Stats Wrap,” which was published on the AFC website,
The team from the S-shaped country edged outstrong rivals from Iraq and Qatar in dreaded penalty shootouts.
In their six matches, players of coach ParkHang-seo received three penalties. Goalkeeper Bui Tien Dung left deepimpression when saving a total of four.
Meanwhile, the 20-year-old midfielder NguyenQuang Hai was nicknamed “sweet left foot”.
“Nguyen Quang Hai’s incredible tournamentcontinued on Saturday as his inch-perfect free-kick sailed into the top cornerto level the scores. That was his fifth goal of the tournament and fourthleft-footed effort from outside the penalty area as the midfielder ended thecompetition boasting more than a third of the 11 goals from distance in his name”,the article said.
In addition to praise for the great progress ofVietnamese football, the AFC also recognised the success of Southeast Asianfootball when two out of the eight teams from this region entered the knock-outrounds, namely U-23 Vietnam and U-23 Malaysia.
It said, “When Vietnam secured their 1-0 victoryover Australia on Matchday Two, they not only claimed their first-ever victoryat the U23 tournament, but also Southeast Asia’s.”
“Vietnam may have ultimately lost the final,but results in China point to a positive future.”
The AFC also ran an article quoting coach ParkHang-seo as saying “I’ve only been in Vietnam four months and I still don’tknow enough about Vietnam’s football culture.”
The 59-year-old man continued saying that “All ofmy players did their best and throughout this tournament they proved that theyhave great ability. Maybe in the future Vietnamese football will have moresuccess at Asian level.”
Vietnamese captain Luong Xuan Truong was quotedby the AFC as praising his team for a well fought campaign and is proud oftheir achievement despite losing to Uzbekistan in the final on January 27.
In a separate story, the 22-year-old captaintold the AFC that “To have reached this far into the tournament, we have provedthat we are one of the best teams in Asia, and we can compete against the topteams in Asia.”
The AFC noted that Changzhou Olympic SportsCenter was graced with the presence of thousands of Vietnamese supporters, whohave travelled up north despite the chilly and snowy conditions to cheer theirteam.
Truong said, “I feel amazed. We were reallyhappy to see them in the stadium. They have always tried to support us andbrought along a significant energy.
“I wantthe supporters to keep supporting us and in the future, we will try to bringVietnam further.”-VNA
“Vietnam led the way on penalties conceded bygiving away three, two of which were converted, in their six games,” said thearticle titled “The Stats Wrap,” which was published on the AFC website,
The team from the S-shaped country edged outstrong rivals from Iraq and Qatar in dreaded penalty shootouts.
In their six matches, players of coach ParkHang-seo received three penalties. Goalkeeper Bui Tien Dung left deepimpression when saving a total of four.
Meanwhile, the 20-year-old midfielder NguyenQuang Hai was nicknamed “sweet left foot”.
“Nguyen Quang Hai’s incredible tournamentcontinued on Saturday as his inch-perfect free-kick sailed into the top cornerto level the scores. That was his fifth goal of the tournament and fourthleft-footed effort from outside the penalty area as the midfielder ended thecompetition boasting more than a third of the 11 goals from distance in his name”,the article said.
In addition to praise for the great progress ofVietnamese football, the AFC also recognised the success of Southeast Asianfootball when two out of the eight teams from this region entered the knock-outrounds, namely U-23 Vietnam and U-23 Malaysia.
It said, “When Vietnam secured their 1-0 victoryover Australia on Matchday Two, they not only claimed their first-ever victoryat the U23 tournament, but also Southeast Asia’s.”
“Vietnam may have ultimately lost the final,but results in China point to a positive future.”
The AFC also ran an article quoting coach ParkHang-seo as saying “I’ve only been in Vietnam four months and I still don’tknow enough about Vietnam’s football culture.”
The 59-year-old man continued saying that “All ofmy players did their best and throughout this tournament they proved that theyhave great ability. Maybe in the future Vietnamese football will have moresuccess at Asian level.”
Vietnamese captain Luong Xuan Truong was quotedby the AFC as praising his team for a well fought campaign and is proud oftheir achievement despite losing to Uzbekistan in the final on January 27.
In a separate story, the 22-year-old captaintold the AFC that “To have reached this far into the tournament, we have provedthat we are one of the best teams in Asia, and we can compete against the topteams in Asia.”
The AFC noted that Changzhou Olympic SportsCenter was graced with the presence of thousands of Vietnamese supporters, whohave travelled up north despite the chilly and snowy conditions to cheer theirteam.
Truong said, “I feel amazed. We were reallyhappy to see them in the stadium. They have always tried to support us andbrought along a significant energy.
“I wantthe supporters to keep supporting us and in the future, we will try to bringVietnam further.”-VNA
VNA
