AFC Asian Qualifiers – Road to Qatar: Focus on Vietnam
Well over two years since the start of the Asian Qualifiers, interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, we are down to 12 teams competing for four direct tickets to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. The-AFC.com dives deep into the 12 nations who will be taking part in the upcoming AFC Asian Qualifiers – Road to Qatar assessing and analysing the key men, highlighting the history, and giving a general insight into the teams battling out for a place at Qatar 2022. New on this stage of the Asian Qualifiers, Southeast Asia’s reigning regional champions Vietnam are set to make their bow, but will do so replete with some of the most exciting young talents from ASEAN.
Vietnam come into the Asian Qualifiers having never before played at this stage of the FIFA World Cup qualification process, but with plenty of experience of playing at the highest level of the continental game and should not be taken lightly by their Group B opponents.
In the previous round, coach Park Hang-seo’s men were drawn in a Group G that featured three of their regional rivals from ASEAN in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, as well as West Asia’s United Arab Emirates.
With Indonesia and Malaysia sharing a five-goal thriller on Matchday One it was a tamer affair in Vietnam’s opener as they shared a goalless draw away in Thailand, but the Golden Stars then went on a tear of three consecutive wins that included an impressive 1-0 defeat of UAE thanks to a goal from star striker Nguyen Tien Linh.
Vietnam’s final Group G tie before the COVID-19 pandemic struck saw them share a second 0-0 stalemate with Thailand in front of 40,000 spectators in Hanoi that left the hosts on top of the standings after Matchday Six.
It took close to a year and a half before Group G would resume with the remaining fixtures moved to a centralised hub in the UAE. Despite the change of landscape, Vietnam continued where they left off with an emphatic 4-0 win over Indonesia before they edged Malaysia in the penultimate tie courtesy of captain Que Ngoc Hai’s penalty.
A battling 3-2 defeat to their hosts did see Vietnam ultimately finish second to the UAE in the standings, but they had done enough to secure a place in the AFC Asian Qualifiers – Road to Qatar as one of the five best runners-up and secure an historic spot in the final round of FIFA World Cup qualifying.
Vietnam will be banking on the stars of their New Golden Generation, which draws from the 2018 AFC U23 Championship runners-up side, to see them cause a few upsets against their more experienced adversaries. Chief among them is the prodigiously talented midfielder Nguyen Quang Hai, while striker Nguyen Tien Linh and captain Que Ngoc Hai lead a talented supporting cast.
There was some initial scepticism when Korean manager Park Hang-seo was appointed head coach in September 2017 but the 63-year-old has blown away any and all doubts with success after success since the 2018 AFC U23 Championship and is now a bonafide celebrity in his adopted home.
Having qualified for the final round of the Asian Qualifiers for the first time in their history, and becoming just the second Southeast Asian nation after Thailand to do so, Vietnam are now in uncharted territory.
Not only have they never faced any opponent at this stage of FIFA World Cup qualifying before, with the exception of Japan they have not played any of their Group B opponents in a competitive tie in the last decade.
The Golden Stars last faced Saudi Arabia in FIFA World Qualifying in 2001, although they won’t be in a hurry to recall those two heavy defeats, and it should be prove to be an intriguing encounter against one of Asia’s traditional heavyweights.
Matchday Two will prove even more of a venture into the unknown as Vietnam have never faced Australia before at senior men’s level. The 2015 AFC Asian Cup winners and perennial FIFA World Cup qualifiers are sure to be a tough challenge although Park’s men will at least have home advantage with the first meeting taking place at My Dinh National Stadium.
