Vietnam beat hosts Chinese Taipei 3-1 for a berth in the quarter-finals of the AFC Futsal Championship on February 5 (Photo: AFC).

With two wins and one loss, the 2016 World Cup participants clinched a top spot in Group A.

It was a remarkable success for the Vietnamese squad who received an order of “must win” ahead of the decisive game.

The hosts tried to level the score with the power play tactics, but the Vietnamese successfully blocked all of their attacks. They took a chance seeing Chinese Taipei’s lack of defense to make it 3-1 after forward Nguyen Dac Huy fired into an unguarded goalmouth at the last minute.

“I want to commend Chinese Taipei and coach Adil Amarante, well done! This experience is going to be good for them as they don’t even have a professional league. They have greatly improved since 2017 Asian Indoor Games,” said coach Miguel Rodrigo of Vietnam on the afc.com.

“After the first goal, we got better. Unfortunately, our captain was injured. We will first rest, physically and mentally. We spent a lot of resources tonight. Now is the time to keep the right mentality and play the right way.”

Vietnam will face Group B runners-up Uzbekistan on February 8 in the last-eight round.

Vietnam will face Group B runners-up Uzbekistan on February 8 in the last-eight round.

“Uzbekistan is one of the best, the favorites for sure but we are warriors, and we will play with the Vietnamese spirit,” Rodrigo said.

On the other side, Chinese Taipei coach Jose Adil Amarante said “I can’t say I’m satisfied with the result, but I’m really proud of my team. With the little time, we had to prepare for this tournament, I couldn’t be more proud and happy to see their performance.”

In another match of the group, an extraordinary last-gasp goal from captain Mohamed Al Sandi helped Bahrain secure a historic AFC Futsal Championship quarter-final place after they defeated Malaysia 3-1 to take the runners-up place on goal differences.

Source: VNA