Vietnam U23’s historic journey to the AFC quarter-finals

VOV.VN - The Vietnam U23 squad passed a historic milestone when they reached the quarter-finals of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U23 Championship 2018 for the first time.

Vietnam U23’s coach Park Hang Seo had just 31 days to learn about his players and prepare them for the AFC U23 Championship finals.

Captain Xuan Truong (right) shows the determination of the Vietnam U23s in their efforts ahead of the group stage games of the AFC U23 Championship 2018.

The Vietnam U23s played a friendly match with the Republic of Korea’s (RoK) Ulsan Hyundai FC at Hang Day Stadium in Hanoi before jetting off for the AFC U23 Championship 2018.

In the AFC U23 Championship 2018 finals, U23 Vietnam are put in a group with strong rivals including the RoK, Australia, and Syria.

In their first match of the AFC U23 Championship 2018 finals, Vietnam’s U23s faced a very strong rival in U23 RoK. (Photo: Getty)

Despite U23 Vietnam being seen as the weakest team in Group D, they surprised everyone as Vietnamese midfielder Quang Hai opened the scoring against RoK. (Photo: Getty)

With their dominant strength, the RoK went on to score two unanswered goals. The match ended 2-1 in favour of U23 RoK. (Photo: Getty)

After a loss in their first match, Vietnam’s U23s then faced U23 Australia in their second match.

Coach Park Hang Seo tells his Vietnamese team to sit deep and hit them on the counter-attack.

The game’s only goal came from Vietnamese midfielder Quang Hai bringing a miracle result for the Vietnam U23 squad. They defeated U23 Australia 1-0.

Following their victory over U23 Australia, the Vietnam U23s climb to second in Group D.

In Group D, U23 Vietnam needed a draw with Syria, to be in with a chance of reaching the quarter-finals.

The match with U23 Syria ended 0-0, ensuring Vietnam U23s achieved a historic milestone by earning a berth in the quarter-finals for the first time.