World media stunned by ceremony to welcome U23 Vietnam team home
(VOVWORLD) -Hundreds of thousands of fans endured cold weather to greet Viet Nam’s U23 squad on Sunday as they returned home after winning a silver medal at the Asian Championship, which concluded in China on Saturday.
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Vietnamese fans pack the 30km road from Noi Bai International Airport to downtown Hanoi to greet the U23 team, January 28, 2018.
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Fox Sport Asia posted pictures of the U23 football players being welcomed at Noi Bai International Airport with the caption “The heroes are back”. The biggest prize the Vietnamese team has won is the confidence for the other ASEAN football teams.
The Nikkei Asian Review reported that the team’s trip to the Asian finals fostered a sense of national camaraderie and that the words of the Vietnamese patriotic song “Vietnam, Uncle Ho Chi Minh” were echoing around Hanoi.
 Vietnamese players celebrate Quang Hai's amazing equalizer at the final match against Uzbekistan on January 27, 2018. Vietnam lost 1-2 after extra time. |
Reuters said Vietnamese football fans celebrated with national flags in the street, creating an atmosphere as if Vietnam had just won the World Cup.
Agence France-Presse (AFP) said it was shocked by the hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese people bursting with national pride as they welcomed their young football players home.