Asian media, football experts lavish praise on ‘giant killer’ Vietnam

By Duy Doan   January 21, 2019 | 05:53 pm PT
Asian media, football experts lavish praise on ‘giant killer’ Vietnam
Vietnam's victory leaves a strong impression with Asian media. Photo by VnExpress/Anh Khoa
Asian media and experts were all praise for Vietnam’s never-say-die spirit as they beat Jordan in the Asian Cup.

"Vietnam and Park Hang-seo! Hats off to them, what an incredible effort. You guys didn’t park the bus and played a fair and square game with Jordan in 120 minutes. You didn’t play like a weaker team, you have faith and totally deserve the victory," Kelvin Leong of Fox Sports wrote on Twitter.

Another football journalist, Keeshaanan Sundaresan of FourFourTwo magazine also praised Vietnam’s spirit.

"Vietnam is a fearless team. They are the giant killers. They kept their head straight and won against Jordan on penalties. Believe it or not, they are qualified for the quarterfinals of Asian Cup," Sundaresan wrote.

"Do you know what I like about this team? It’s the accuracy in their passes. Most Southeast Asian players have a good eye on the ball but they usually have a problem with their last passes. With Vietnam, that became less complicated," Sundraresan added.

On ESPN, commentator Sid Ventura wrote: "It’s amazing. Vietnam is the Asian Cup quarter-finals after beating Jordan on penalties. They deserved it."

Football journalist Alex Bishop said Vietnam was writing a fairy tale.

"Vietnam beat Jordan in penalties and they are going to the quarterfinals. The fairy tale is being written by the Golden Dragons," Bishop wrote, sharing a video of Vietnamese players celebrating in the changing room.

"A magical ending for the game. Vietnam advances to Asian Cup quarterfinals," wrote Micheal Edgley of SportsWritersFest.

Football expert Gabriel Tan said the game was exactly what a knockout round should be.

"I like what happened in the game between the first and last team to qualify for Asian Cup round of 16. The game showed the true spirit of a knockout round," Tan said.

The next challenge for Vietnam will be facing Japan on January 24.

 
 
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