A goalless draw with Afghanistan on Tuesday night was enough for Vietnam to secure their first-ever qualification for the 2019 Asian Cup finals in UAE.
This ticket to Asian Cup finals was also the perfect debut for newly-appointed Vietnam coach Park Hang-seo, who had only one week to gather players for his squad.
In this must-win situation for both sides, Park and his players had to face lots of challenge from the opponents with greater physical strength.
Just eight minutes after the first whistle, Zubayr Amiri nearly opened the score with a powerful header but was stopped by goalkeeper Nguyen Tuan Manh. Manh became the hero for The Golden Stars as he denied consecutive attempts from Afghanistan, especially in 10 last minutes.
In the 85th minute, Amiri made Vietnamese supporters hold their breath with his shot that hit the right post.
After five matches played, Vietnam had nine points, ranking second in Group C after Jordan, who beat Cambodia 1-0 on the same day to top the table with 11 points.
