Besides winning the right to enter the quarterfinals after the second round of Group D last night, U23 Vietnam set two new records for Southeast Asian football in the continental arena. First, Vietnamese football became the representative that passed the group stage of the U23 Asia the most in the region.
By winning both opening matches, this year's U23 Vietnam team earned a full 6 points after the first 2 matches for the first time. The seniors of Khuat Van Khang and his teammates only won a maximum of 1 match each time they participated in the group stage of the U23 Asia tournament. Even the 2018 generation of Quang Hai and Cong Phuong only had 4 points after 1 win, 1 draw and 1 loss.
U23 Vietnam set a new milestone after entering the quarter-finals of the 2024 U23 Asia.
Two years ago, U23 Vietnam set a record of 5 points in the group stage - an achievement that no Southeast Asian team has ever achieved. This year, coach Hoang Anh Tuan and his team have 6 points after 2 matches and can improve their achievement.
More broadly, at all levels, this is only the second time that Vietnamese football has had a representative win 2 group stage matches of a continental tournament (only counting 11-player football, not futsal). The last time was at the U20 Asian finals held 1 year ago, led by coach Hoang Anh Tuan. The core of that squad is also present in the current U23 Vietnam team.
Last year, coach Hoang Anh Tuan and his team sadly left the tournament after the group stage despite winning 2 matches. However, that did not happen again, after last night's match, U23 Vietnam has secured the right to enter the quarter-finals even though the final match with U23 Uzbekistan has not taken place yet.
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