Tuesday, 23/01/2018 19:38 (GMT+7)
(CPV) - North Central Thanh Hoa province-origin talented goalie Bui Tien Dung’s two penalty saves sensationally earned Vietnam a place in the AFC U23 Championship final on January 23rd as the Southeast Asian side defeated Qatar 4-3 in a penalty shootout after thrilling semi-final ended 2-2 after extra time.
The world football community was so surprised, delivering “nice words” to the team on channels.
Midfielder 21-year-old Nguyen Quang Hai (No.19) from Hanoi FC was at the heart of things for the Southeast Asians after scoring two goals in the 70th and 88th minutes.
Goalkeeper Bui Tien Dung
Midfielder Nguyen Quang Hai
The team
Head coaches Park Hang-seo and Felix Sanchez
The two goals of Qatar named by the two 22-year-old strikers Akram Afif in the 39th minute (penalty) and Almoez Ali in the 86th minute.
While the victory moves Vietnam, incredibly, a step nearer to the title, it sees Qatar fall at the semi-final stage for the second successive competition following their fourth-place finish at the tour’s last edition two years ago.
The team qualified for the semifinals on January 20th thanks to a dramatic victory over Iraqi rivals.
Vietnam became the first South Asian country to enter the final of the AFC U23 Championship.
Millions of fans nationwide took the streets to celebrate the victory, keeping their dream of winning the Cup in the last game against Uzbekistan at 15h00 on January 27th. The doubly land-locked Central Asian state, earlier, defeated the Republic of Korea 4-1 after extra-time at the Kunshan stadium also on January 23rd./
ATP