The article said Vietnam’s football has seen strong development with outstanding achievements, such as earning a ticket to the FIFA U-20 World Cup for the first time ever in 2017. Vietnam is certainly an unknown in Group D, it said. Vietnam is in Group D of the AFC event alongside Syria, Australia and the RoK. The AFC website, in its article introducing the AFC U23 Championship contenders, highlighted achievements of Vietnam’s U23 team.  The article noted that in last July’s qualifiers for the 2018 edition, Vietnam’s current generation impressed, comprehensively defeating Timor-Leste 4-0 before a resounding 8-1 victory over Macau (China). 

“The biggest test of all was the final round of qualifiers against former finalists - the Republic of Korea (RoK) in front of 18,000 fans at Ho Chi Minh City’s Thong Nhat Stadium, where Vietnam acquitted themselves well in a narrow 2-1 loss.

The tournament kicks off on Tuesday. Vietnam will first face the RoK on Thursday.