Prior to the tournament, Park said he wanted to surprise people with his Vietnamese players. And they are on the way to proving it.
Player Quang Hai (No.19)
The win at Kunshan Sports Center Stadium was even an earthquake for the whole continent, as Australian media described their loss as a national disaster, while Thai newspapers, such as Thai Rath, Siam Sports and Bangkok Post, considered it a big shock.
After the match, AFC President Sheikh Salman al-Khalifa sent his congratulation to the team, saying he was proud of Vietnam’s result and hoped the team would see more success.
Vietnam was the first ASEAN team to win at this tournament, which is in its third edition. Thailand and Malaysia are the two other teams. Thailand has just been eliminated after two straight losses, while Malaysia claimed one point from a draw after two matches.
The golden boy midfielder Hai (21, from Hanoi FC) scored the only goal at the 72nd minute, making part of his coach Park Hang-seo’s expectation to make miracles come true.
Australia pushed for the equaliser, with substitute George Blackwood hitting the crossbar with a late header, but Vietnam held on to record a famous win. It even had no answer to Quang Hai’s deflected long-range strike and the result leaves both teams level on three points after two rounds of matches, with the Olyroos defeating Syria and Vietnam losing to the Republic of Korea in their respective openers.
Victory over Syria in their final group game on January 10th would be enough to take the Vietnamese into the last eight while Australia face a significant challenge to stay alive in the tournament when they take on the rivals from the Republic of Korea.
At the post-match briefing, Vietnam’s head coach Park Hang Seo share: "I want to dedicate this victory to the Vietnamese people. I promised we would do something special but this is just the start. I want to thank the players and my staff, they did everything I asked them to do. We have one match left and from tomorrow we have to concentrate on that game. We always believed we can win the game. We don't know in advance what the result will be, but we prepare to win. Every team has good points and of course today, we were lucky".
Meanwhile, 44-year-old coach Ante Milicic of Australia congratulated Vietnam on a fantastic victory.
“For them to win a game at a tournament like this is good for their confidence. We knew what to expect, in terms of the way that they set up and approached the game with their 5-4-1 formation. It was similar to the way they set up in the first match, and we struggled at times to create some clear cut chances. We were vulnerable on the break and we could have dealt better with those situations. Towards the end we created three or four good chances, but the ball wouldn’t go in. So we go home disappointed, but we’ll assess it and focus on the next game, which will be a difficult one against the Republic of Korea", he was quoted as saying on the-afc.com.
Quang Hai also scored the opener for Vietnam in the first match of the tournament on January 11th. Despite losing 1-2 to 2016 Championship runners-up (the Republic of Korea), the country really shocked not only local experts, but also international trainers.
At 18h30 on January 17th, Vietnam will play Syria in Changshu, who did just enough to keep their hopes of a place in the quarter-finals after securing a 0-0 draw with the Republic of Korea in a late match on January 14th./.
The AFC Championship finals is take place on January 9th- 27th in four cities in Jiangshu province, namely Changzhou, Kunshan, Jiangyin and Changshu.