Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has sent a congratulatory message to Vietnam's U23 team saying their victory is a great pride of Vietnamese sports and Vietnamese football in particular. On behalf of the Vietnamese government, Prime Minister Phuc extended the warmest greetings to the team and coach Park Hang Seo and expressed his hope that the team will bring into play unity, disciplines, and confidence to gain further success in the semi-finals to enter the final.  

Vietnam’s win has been widely praised on foreign media. On its Twitter account at AFC.com, the Asian Football Confederation praised the match between Vietnam and Iraq in the quarterfinals saying that Vietnam’s victory was unbelievable and it’s more dramatic than a Hollywood film. “Have you ever seen a more dramatic quarter final?”, twitted AFC. FOX Sports Asia commented that Vietnam’s U23 players created a shock in China. The ESPN wrote that Vietnam has changed the fairy tale of Southeast Asian football after edging out Iraq in a penalty shootout.  It says Vietnam’s legend at the AFC U23 Championship will continue. Thailand’s leading sports newspaper SiamSports covered Vietnam’s victory saying Vietnam has become the first ASEAN country to enter the semi-finals of the AFC U23 Championship since it was first organized. The Sedaily.com page of the Republic of Korea praised coach Park Hang Seo saying he has become a hero of Vietnamese football after bringing Vietnam's U23 team to the semi-final of AFC U23 tournament.

Vietnam will play against Qatar on January 23.