ASIAD 2018: Vietnamese football squad grabs international headlines

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC)’s website said that the team won a “very convincing” victory due to their superior professionalism and experience.

“The experience of having played in the AFC U23 Championship China 2018 last January, where they finished second, proved to be advantageous for Vietnam as they moved with confidence”, it wrote.

Meanwhile, Fox Sports Asia gave praise to “golden boy” Quang Hai, saying that Hai together with Cong Phuong were “on target in the Vietnam win”.

“Golden boy Nguyen Quang Hai got the Vietnamese on their way in the 21st minute when he linked up brilliantly with Nguyen Cong Phuong, twice exchanging passes to break into the area before slotting through the legs of Saqib Hanif”, it highlighted.

The crushing victory has also impressed the media in the host nation, which believed that the Vietnamese team could have had more goals if they had made use of all available opportunities.

Sport newspaper Topskor said that Pakistan U23could not do much to overturn the situation as they were facing the runner-up of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U23 Championship.

Admiring the players in red, China’s Sohu noted that their strength cannot be underestimated.

Also, SportsSeoul of the Republic of Korea lauded the Vietnamese team for their perfect start, stressing that if their brilliant performance is maintained, they will easily beat Nepal in the next match.