Surprising statistics of Vietnam's opening matches in World Cup qualifiers

According to statistics, the Vietnamese team has participated in the second qualifying round of the World Cup three times since 2014, but their performance in the opening matches was not impressive with two losses and one draw.

In 2014, the Vietnamese team had to participate in the first qualifying round of the World Cup before winning the right to enter the second qualifying round thanks to two victories against Macau (China).

In the first leg, the Vietnamese team under the guidance of coach Falko Goetz defeated Macau (China) with a score of 6-0. In the second leg, the Vietnamese team continued to win with a score of 7-1 to enter the second qualifying round.

Thống kê bất ngờ các trận mở màn của tuyển Việt Nam ở vòng loại World Cup - 1 — Vietnam team aims to win all 3 points in the opening match of the second qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup against the Philippines (Photo: Manh Quan).

However, in the opening match of the second qualifying round, the Vietnamese team suffered a heavy 0-3 defeat against Qatar in the first leg. Despite winning the second leg with a score of 2-1, coach Falko Goetz's team stopped after losing 2-4 to Qatar on aggregate.

In the second qualifying round of the 2018 World Cup, the Vietnamese team had their opening match against rival Thailand at their home stadium Rajamangala. Despite aiming to play a tight defense to get points on the away field, the team led by coach Toshiya Miura still lost 0-1.

That was the match where the Vietnamese team was "powerless" against Thailand because they had to play with 10 men when Nguyen Minh Chau received a red card in the 73rd minute of the match.

Losing a player, the Vietnamese team revealed many gaps in the middle and had to pay the price with a goal in the 81st minute after midfielder Pokklaw Anan broke through and shot from 20 meters away.

In the second qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup, the Vietnamese team under coach Park Hang Seo continued to meet a familiar opponent, Thailand, in the opening match at the opponent's Thammasat Stadium. Under great pressure from the team led by coach Akira Nishino, the Vietnamese team was lucky to hold the score to a 0-0 draw.

However, the second qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup then witnessed an excellent performance from Coach Park Hang Seo's team, when we finished second in Group G with a record of 5 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss to be present in the third qualifying round of a World Cup for the first time in history.

The second qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup is the fourth time the Vietnamese team has participated in this tournament. Coach Philippe Troussier's team will have their opening match against the opponent considered the easiest in the group, the Philippines, tomorrow (6:00 p.m., November 16).

This is the match in which the Vietnamese team aims to win all 3 points away at Rizal Memorial to compete for a ticket to the third qualifying round with opponents Iraq and Indonesia in their group.

In the second qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup, Coach Park Hang Seo's students won two, drew one, and lost one in four away matches. In the second qualifying round of the 2018 World Cup, the team's record was one win and two losses.

However, the Vietnamese team will have to focus and make every effort when playing on an artificial pitch when facing the Philippines. In the most recent match against a Southeast Asian opponent on an artificial pitch (against Singapore in the group stage of the AFF Cup 2022), the Vietnamese team could only gain one point when playing on a pitch that is not suitable for their strengths.