The Vietnamese Olympic team's failure at the 19th Asian Games does not mean that the World Cup goal that Vietnamese football is aiming for will be hindered, but it will not be easy to achieve.
1. After participating in the knockout rounds, even reaching the semi-finals and competing for the bronze medal in the last three Asian Games, for the first time, Vietnamese football was eliminated in the group stage of the continent's biggest sporting event (Asiad), leaving fans deeply disappointed.
However, given that the Vietnamese Olympic team didn't set high targets and only brought the youngest squad among all participating teams to the 19th Asian Games, the above result was predictable.
At the same time, the goal of participating in the Asian Games is for the future, so the disappointment is considerably reduced, not to mention that the Vietnamese Olympic team is in a tough group with the Iranian and Saudi Arabian Olympic teams.
Vietnam's Olympic team's failure at the Asian Games was not unexpected.
2. In recent years, Vietnamese football has truly flourished on the continental stage, and has consistently held the top two positions in the region.
From the triumph in Changzhou with the Vietnam U23 team to the 18th Asian Games in Indonesia, the quarter-finals of the Asian Cup, and reaching the third round of World Cup qualifiers… with the Vietnamese national team, fans believe that the team has truly reached a higher level.
Returning to the 19th Asian Games, the defeats against strong contenders for the gold medal are not regrettable and are understandable, but from this, we can assess that Vietnamese football still has a significant gap to bridge with the major powers in the region.
Lack of experience and failure are normal, but it's still important to honestly acknowledge your level of skill so you can use it as motivation to improve in the future.
3. It should be reiterated that the decision by the VFF and coach Philippe Troussier to participate in the 19th Asian Games with a young squad and aiming for long-term goals is entirely correct and reasonable at this time.
But if we are to place our faith in this Vietnamese Olympic team to participate in the World Cup, the players themselves need to make more effort.
Vietnamese football's recent successes are essentially due to a lack of a solid foundation; therefore, if it wants to reach the international stage or turn the dream of participating in the World Cup into reality, it must start building from now.
The upcoming World Cup may not be entirely dedicated to the generation of players who just participated in the Asian Games due to their age and lack of experience, but the next tournament will likely still rely on players like Khuất Văn Khang, Đình Bắc, Xuân Tiến, and others.
But that's a matter for the future. For now, the players who have just returned from the Asian Games must understand that they still lack many skills and need to work harder if they want to earn a place on the Vietnamese national team in the future and participate in any World Cup.
Vietnamnet.vn
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