FIFA says Vietnam ‘fully deserving’ of first ever U-20 World Cup point

By VnExpress May 22, 2017 | 07:08 pm PT

Vietnam's Ha Duc Chinh shows off his skill in South Korea on Monday. Photo by VnExpress/Duc Dong

'One of our aims in coming here was to gain respect,' the Vietnam coach said after his team's impressive debut.

The official website of FIFA has said Vietnam were “fully deserving” of their 0-0 draw in a closely contested match against New Zealand at the U-20 World Cup Korea 2017 on Monday.

In a report published on Tuesday, it estimated that nearly 2,000 Vietnamese fans made the trip to South Korea’s Cheonan Sports Complex to cheer on their team.

At the end the match fans celebrated what FIFA called an “historic” result for the Vietnamese players, believed to be the underdogs before the match, for securing the country's first-ever point on their tournament debut.

“We’ve written a fantastic new chapter in the history of Vietnamese football,” captain Quang Hai Nguyen told the site.

Coach Hoang Anh Tuan said his players are ready for the next match against France.

“One of our aims in coming here was to gain respect. And I think we’ve done that tonight,” he was quoted as saying.

In its post-game analysis, Fox Sports described Vietnam as “hugely impressive” in the opener.

“Fast, technically impressive and aggressive: Vietnam did Southeast Asia proud in their opening match,” it said. According to its estimates, most of the nearly 7,000 fans in Cheonan were Vietnamese.