Following a series of successful endeavours in international football, Vietnam are now eyeing bigger dreams – featuring in the FIFA World Cup.
The UNSUNG HEROES of Vietnam’s AFC Asian Cup 2019 journey
Winning the AFF Suzuki Cup in 2018, the Golden Dragons also went far in the AFC Asian Cup 2019. Now they’ve broken into the top 100 of FIFA’s world rankings and they are looking to continue their improvement.
The World Cup qualifiers begin in September and with FIFA hoping to expand the number of teams to 48, this gives hope for more teams and Vietnamese forward Cong Phuong homes that the team can make that jump.
In a statement, he said: “I do believe it is possible if we have boundless energy, endless efforts and good luck like we had at the Asian Cup.
“We have a great spirit in the Vietnam team and with our coach Mr. Park, he will definitely be a big help for us to qualify.”
Vietnam manager Park Hang-seo has established a new dawn in Vietnamese football, with the inclusion of young and emerging players lifting the quality of football in the country.
Phuong, who is one of the standout players for the country, admits that their talent pool is deep.
He said: “The new wave of talent has come through the different age levels together,” he said.
“Vietnam have invested steadily in the youth system over the past decade,” said Phuong. “We are now seeing the fruits of that huge investment.”