Narrow defeat sees Vietnam miss World Cup place

By Lam Thoa March 30, 2016 | 01:07 am PT

Vietnam’s national football team suffered a 1-nil loss to Iraq in their second-leg qualifying match for the 2018 World Cup.

Vietnam goes all in, but Iraq continues to prove their clas. Photo by ND

Vietnam put in a brave effort, but Iraq had too much class. Photo by ND

The only goal of the match belonged to Mohannad Abdul Raheem, who scored in the closing moments of the first half.

Vietnam coach, Huu Thang, was critical of the playing surface at the PAS Ghavamin stadium, saying the poor quality of the pitch had made it difficult to execute his team’s strategy.

The victory over Vietnam was enough for Iraq to finish second in Group F and continue on to the last round of Asian region qualifiers for the World Cup.

Vietnam finished in third but still have a chance to secure a place at the 2019 Asian Cup. Thailand also moved through after topping the group.