Vietnam's second group D match took place at Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium in Doha, Qatar on Friday night, and Nguyen Filip (green jersey) and his teammates needed a victory to keep their chance of advancing, after losing to Japan in the opening match.
However, coach Philippe Troussier's team didn't get off to a good start, allowing Indonesia to pressure them from the beginning of the match. Indonesia delivered a series of continuous crosses into the penalty area and threatened Filip's goal many times.
In the 42nd minute, the Vietnamese-Czech keeper was helpless when facing Asnawi Mangkualam on a penalty spot. The ball sailed into the top left corner of the net, opposite Filip’s move.
In the following minutes, Indonesia continued to create trouble for Vietnam's defense, but Filip’s savvy tending denied many shots.
In injury time, Filip joined the attack when Vietnam received a final corner kick.
As his teammates positioned themselves, he chanted encouragement, imploring his teammates to stay focused and not give up.
Filip was given the highest score in the match by Sofascore, at 7.6. However, his excellence could not help Vietnam avoid defeat.
Filip shakes hands with fans after the match.
He said he was sad. However, he added that he and his teammates would quickly forget the loss and prepare for their final match against Iraq on Jan. 24 before exiting the tournament.
The Vietnamese goalkeeper receives a hug from a family member in the stand. His mother, wife and son also came to the stand to watch his first game with Vietnam, against Japan, on Jan. 14.
Filip was born in 1992 to a Czech mother and a Vietnamese father. He started his career at a youth academy and then played for Sparta Prague’s first team before moving to other Czech clubs like Bydzov, Vlasim, Slova Liberec and Slovacko. Filip was named the best goalkeeper in the Czech National Football League for the 2018-2019 season.
After joining Vietnamese club CAHN in the V. League 2023 season, Filip met local residency requirements and completed his naturalization process in December.
