All eyes in Southeast Asia are on the Viet Nam Olympic team, who has earned a quarterfinal debut at the Asian Games (ASIAD) 2018 with a historic victory over Bahrain two days ago.

Head coach Park Hang-seo of Viet Nam Olympic team. (Photo: VNA)

Viet Nam is the only in Southeast Asia reaching to the quarterfinals of the ASIAD 2018 which is underway in Indonesia after the host country was eliminated by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the penalty shootout and Malaysia lost 0 – 1 to Japan.

It is the first time in the history Viet Nam has named itself among the top eight men’s football squads at the ASIAD, following its surprising rise in January at the AFC U23 football cup by advancing to the finals also for the first time.

Behind Viet Nam’s rise as a giant-killer at the ASIAD is head coach Park Hang-seo from the Republic of Korea who has been given big applause by international media, including those from his home country.

The RoK’s Chosun Ilbo said that the Viet Nam Olympic team has come that far as magic of coach Park Hang-seo continues while Hankoo Ilbo nicknamed Park “Guus Hiddink of Viet Nam.”

From Indonesia, the newspaper Liputan6 said it is one of the country’s two greatest hallmarks in 2018. Earlier this year, they surprised the entire Asia in the AFC U23 Championship. At that time, the team has made the Vietnamese football fans be overwhelmed with excitement, according to the news outlet.

At ASIAD 2018, the talent of coach Park has been confirmed, it wrote, adding he never wants to disappoint Vietnamese fans because the team they love fails.

Viet Nam will face Syria in the quarterfinals on 27 August.

(Source: VNA)