Ahead of the 2020 AFC U23 Championship in Thailand next January, the AFC has hosted a vote for fans favourite goal from the eight iconic goals of the tournament since its inception in 2013. Quang Hai’s superb free kick in the snow storm in the final of the 2018 tournament was in the running.
After one week, Quang Hai's free kick against reigning champions Uzbekistan U23s in the 2018 final in Changzhou (China) was the winner of the vote, gaining a total of 1,159,847 votes, streaks ahead of the second most voted for goal by Iranian player Mahdi Torabi against China U23 in 2016 which had a total of 298,037 votes.
The voting result for the most iconic goal at the AFC U23 Championship.
The goal by the Hanoi FC’s midfielder was ultimately the deserving winner as it was not merely an equaliser for Vietnam in a very tense situation against Uzbekistan in that final, but also showed other noble values such as team spirit, unwavering belief and the desire of the entire team in the harsh weather conditions many of the players had never experienced before.
Talking about the iconic goal of Quang Hai, the AFC wrote while Uzbekistan won the tournament, Nguyen Quang Hai captured the imagination of fans with his 'Rainbow in the Snow' in the final – one of five superb goals by the midfielder – providing one of the most iconic moments the competition has ever witnessed.
In the final in January 27, 2018, Uzbekistan opened the scoring in the eighth minute, thanks to Rustamjon Ashurmatov’s header, but Quang Hai’s ‘Rainbow in the Snow’ levelled proceedings as half-time approached. Vietnam performed admirably and appeared to be heading for a penalty shootout as the game entered its 120th minute. However, substitute Andrey Sidorov volleyed home Dostonbek Khamdamov’s corner to seal the victory in the 120th minute to help Uzbekistan claim their first title of the AFC U23 Championship.
Let's witness the superb goal "Rainbow in the Snow" by Quang Hai. (Video: AFC)
The iconic goal by Quang Hai is expected to bring a lot of spiritual meaning to him as a source of encouragement not only for the Hanoian, but also for his entire Vietnam U23 team before leaving for Thailand to attend this year’s finals.
Coach Park Hang-seo and his players are eager to recreate their impressive achievement in 2018, heading towards a Top 3 finish in the tournament held in Thailand to be granted a ticket to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Currently, Hai and his teammates are in Ho Chi Minh City for their final preparation ahead of the 2020 AFC U23 Championship. They have arrived home after a 10-day training camp in the Republic of Korea (ROK).
Park and his Korean assistants will join Vietnam U23 squad in Ho Chi Minh City this afternoon after a short Christmas holiday in their home country. The team will be back to training from December 25 to prepare for a friendly with V.League 1 side Becamex Binh Duong on December 28.
On January 1, 2020, the squad will set off to Thailand for the 2020 AFC U23 Championship. According to the plan, Park’s side will have one last rehearsal with a final friendly with Bahrain U23s on January 3 next year.
On January 10, Vietnam will officially kick-off their Thai campaign with the Group D opener against the UAE, before facing Jordan on January 13. The reigning runners-up will wrap up their group stage with a match against DPR Korea on January 16.
