National hero: Striker Nguyen Quang Hai (No 19) celebrates after scoring a goal in the match against Qatar (Photo VNA)Hanoi (VNS/VNA) -Goalkeeper Bui Tien Dung made history as his penalty saves helped Vietnamcontinue their march to the final of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U23Championship in Changzhou, China, on January 23.
‘Giant-killer’ Vietnam sentQatar, another Asian powerhouse, home earlier than expected after winning 4-3in a thrilling semi-final shootout following a 2-2 draw in official time andextra time.
Earlier in thequarter-finals, the Southeast Asian side beat powerful Iraq 5-3 in penalties,in which Dung saved one.
[Fans go wild as Vietnam advances to AFC U23 championship final]
The unexpected win marksthe best ever result for Vietnam, who has never before passed the group roundin this tournament.
Korean coach ParkHang-seo’s men managed to conjure a win against Qatar, despite falling behindtwice in the match.
It was the Qataris whoopened the scoring in the 39th minute when they were given a penalty bySingaporean referee Muhammad Taqi after Qatari striker Almoez Ali wasdragged down in the box.
Akram Afif made no mistakescoring the opener.
Vietnam, known for theirindefatigable spirit, recovered soon after the interval.
Nguyen Quang Hai firstthreatened the West Asian side with a free-kick that hit the bar.
Shortly after, followingQatar’s inability to clear substitute Nguyen Phong Hong Duy’s cross, Hai nettedthe ball home from close-range to claim an equaliser in the 69th minute.
Qatar then looked to takethe win with six minutes remaining, when Almoez Ali bundled the ball over theline from close range after the Vietnamese failed a clearance.
Miraculously, Hai soon fired another shot into the net to bring the two sideslevel in the 89th minute. Receiving the ball on the edge of the box,he curled a superb shot past goalie Mohammed Al Bakari to signal the needfor extra time.
In the 30 minutes of extratime, no goal was forthcoming for either side, and Vietnam again had to settletheir encounter through a penalty shootout.
This time around,Vietnamese hero Hai, who scored four out of seven goals for his team, mademillions of home fans nervous, when his shot, the first for Vietnam, was deniedby Al Bakari, whose teammate Afif had already done a good job with the firstkick for Qatar earlier.
However, Vietnamesegoalkeeper Dung stopped efforts from Qatari duo Ahmad Moein in the secondand Sultan Al Brake in the fifth penalties.
Vu Van Thanh then kept hisnerve to convert Vietnam’s fifth shot, and send the 2017 World Cup U20participants through to the final.
They will now set up atitle showdown against Uzbekistan on January 27.
Vietnam is only one matchaway from a championship trophy while Qatar fell at the semi-final stagefor the second successive competition following their fourth-place finish atthe tournament’s last edition in 2016.
Speaking at the post-matchconference coach Park praised his players as the warriors, saying that his teampromised not to let their supporters down and they managed it.
Despite losing a lot ofenergy after four difficult matches they did great job to beat Qatar who wereconsidered much stronger rivals.
Meanwhile, Qatarcoach Felix Sanchez said he predicted it would be a tough match and itwas. Qatar failed to enter the final and Vietnam deserved to be one of thefinalists because they were more determined and tried hard to secure victory.In football, there were wins and losses. It would be a valuable experience forhim and his players, he said
After the match, Vietnameseplayers received congratulations from local and international dignitaries andfans.-VNA
The unexpected win marksthe best ever result for Vietnam, who has never before passed the group roundin this tournament.
Korean coach ParkHang-seo’s men managed to conjure a win against Qatar, despite falling behindtwice in the match.
It was the Qataris whoopened the scoring in the 39th minute when they were given a penalty bySingaporean referee Muhammad Taqi after Qatari striker Almoez Ali wasdragged down in the box.
Akram Afif made no mistakescoring the opener.
Vietnam, known for theirindefatigable spirit, recovered soon after the interval.
Nguyen Quang Hai firstthreatened the West Asian side with a free-kick that hit the bar.
Shortly after, followingQatar’s inability to clear substitute Nguyen Phong Hong Duy’s cross, Hai nettedthe ball home from close-range to claim an equaliser in the 69th minute.
Qatar then looked to takethe win with six minutes remaining, when Almoez Ali bundled the ball over theline from close range after the Vietnamese failed a clearance.
Miraculously, Hai soon fired another shot into the net to bring the two sideslevel in the 89th minute. Receiving the ball on the edge of the box,he curled a superb shot past goalie Mohammed Al Bakari to signal the needfor extra time.
In the 30 minutes of extratime, no goal was forthcoming for either side, and Vietnam again had to settletheir encounter through a penalty shootout.
This time around,Vietnamese hero Hai, who scored four out of seven goals for his team, mademillions of home fans nervous, when his shot, the first for Vietnam, was deniedby Al Bakari, whose teammate Afif had already done a good job with the firstkick for Qatar earlier.
However, Vietnamesegoalkeeper Dung stopped efforts from Qatari duo Ahmad Moein in the secondand Sultan Al Brake in the fifth penalties.
Vu Van Thanh then kept hisnerve to convert Vietnam’s fifth shot, and send the 2017 World Cup U20participants through to the final.
They will now set up atitle showdown against Uzbekistan on January 27.
Vietnam is only one matchaway from a championship trophy while Qatar fell at the semi-final stagefor the second successive competition following their fourth-place finish atthe tournament’s last edition in 2016.
Speaking at the post-matchconference coach Park praised his players as the warriors, saying that his teampromised not to let their supporters down and they managed it.
Despite losing a lot ofenergy after four difficult matches they did great job to beat Qatar who wereconsidered much stronger rivals.
Meanwhile, Qatarcoach Felix Sanchez said he predicted it would be a tough match and itwas. Qatar failed to enter the final and Vietnam deserved to be one of thefinalists because they were more determined and tried hard to secure victory.In football, there were wins and losses. It would be a valuable experience forhim and his players, he said
After the match, Vietnameseplayers received congratulations from local and international dignitaries andfans.-VNA
VNA
