There is no doubt that Vietnamese football is on the rise. The national team, nicknamed the Golden Star Warriors, reached uncharted waters after qualifying for their FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifier group, sidestepping rival Southeast countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand to finish second behind the United Arab Emirates .
In the AFC Third Round Qualifying Round, for the first time in their history, Vietnam was drawn alongside Asian powerhouses such as Saudi Arabia, Australia, Japan and China as well as Oman and this would prove to be a very different level. Beating the Chinese in Hanoi in February will go down in history as one of the most memorable nights in the national team’s history, and the South China Post described the result as humiliating for China, Yet those single wins and eight losses only highlight the gap that exists between the best of Southeast Asia and the rest of the continent.
And when you consider that Australia has leveled with France, Tunisia and Denmark in Qatar, you wonder how the Golden Star Warriors would have fared had they made it to the World Cup. Saudi Arabia, one of the teams that comfortably beat Vietnam in qualifying, is ranked as outsiders in the latest World Cup bets on Ladbrokes† In fact, none of the five AFC teams are rated as likely to make it out of the group stage, underscoring just how far adrift Vietnam is in world football.
Can Vietnam ever qualify for the World Cup? Certainly, when it comes to Southeast Asia, they are the best equipped. They won the Suzuki ASEAN regional football championship in 2018, while the Under 22s won the Southeast Asian Games in 2019 and 2021. But outside that bubble, both the national and club sides continue to struggle. The ambition is there. Even in 2019, officials of the Vietnamese Football Federation were looking forward to 2026, although plans to compete in France’s prestigious Toulon tournament were thwarted by the Covid-19 pandemic.
So, what can be done to make this dream a reality? England coach Steve Darby has worked all over Southeast Asia, including Vietnam, and he is full of praise for the Vietnamese players and their technical prowess. However, he believes that the playing fields, which are often flooded as a result of the annual monsoon season, should be improved and better foreign players introduced to the V.League.
Darby also says it is important that the best Vietnamese players have the opportunity to play abroad and one player who has followed that advice is midfielder Nguyen Quang Hai. The 25-year-old midfielder has signed for French Ligue 2 side Pau, recently scored on his friendly debut and his experience of living, training and playing in such a professional environment can hopefully inspire other talented young players to pursue their luck. to be tested abroad. †
Maybe the Vietnamese men’s team can take a break from women’s football. In 2001, the Vietnamese women’s team, coached by the aforementioned Darby, won the SEA Games in Malaysia, becoming the first team to win an international tournament. And in 2023, the Vietnamese women’s team will participate in the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia.
Vietnam may have failed to book a ticket to Qatar, but reaching the third round was an achievement in itself that should not be underestimated. With Nguyen Quang Hai as a role model and the 2019 and 2021 SEA Games winners hopefully forming a youthful nucleus for the passionate Vietnamese football fans, it is only one step towards seeing Vietnam take their place in the FIFA World Cup in 2026 !
