On the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) homepage was the headline: “Vietnam through to final after another thriller” next to a photo of a key goal by Quang Hai, the hero of the game who scored the equaliser. The AFC’s Twitter account also posted a photo of Quang Hai and his teammates with a congratulatory message to the stars.

Fox Sports ran a story on the miracle triumph by coach Park Hang-seo and Vietnam’s U23 team saying that Vietnam is unbelievably through to the final of the AFC U-23 Championship after beating Qatar on penalties. Goalkeeper Bui Tien Dung emerged as the hero of the shootout for Vietnam by blocking the efforts of two Qatar players.

Cambodian media praised the Vietnam U23s. Cam-Sport, a Facebook page with nearly a million viewers, congratulated Vietnam on its victory, by which it became the first Southeast Asian country to reach the final of the AFC U23 Championship. Vietnam has proved that the region’s football has reached parity with that of the rest of Asia. Major TV stations in Cambodia aired live broadcasts of the match.

Thailand’s leading papers covered the achievements of coach Park Hang-seo and his players. Siam Sports, the biggest sports newspaper in Thailand, called the Vietnamese team an emerging squad in Asia.