Southeast Asian teams' achievements at the Asian Cup: Thailand and Vietnam impress

Among the four Southeast Asian teams present at the 2023 Asian Cup, including Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, the Vietnamese and Thai teams have made significant impressions in this tournament.

Before the 2023 Asian Cup (taking place from January 12 to February 10 in Qatar), Thailand was the Southeast Asian team with the best record in the history of the Asian championship. Specifically, the Golden Temple team reached the semi-finals of the 1972 tournament, then won third place overall. The 1972 tournament was also held in Thailand.

Thailand won 3rd place in Asian Cup

FAT

In the 1972 Asian Cup third-place match, Thailand defeated the Khmer Republic (later Cambodia) in a penalty shootout after the two teams drew 2-2 after 120 minutes of regulation and extra time. The second-best team in the group of four Southeast Asian teams present at the 2023 Asian Cup is the Vietnam team. We have reached the quarter-finals of the Asian Championship twice. The first time the Vietnam team reached the quarter-finals of an Asian Cup was in 2007. At that time, the Vietnam team was the co-host of the tournament, alongside three other Southeast Asian countries, including Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand. In 2007, the Vietnamese team was led by coach Alfred Riedl (Austrian), with a strong squad of players such as Cong Vinh, Minh Phuong, Tai Em, Quang Thanh... Just 1 year after reaching the quarter-finals of the 2007 Asian Cup (losing 0-2 to Iraq in the quarter-finals), the Vietnamese team with the above squad won the 2008 AFF Cup under coach Calisto. The second time the Vietnamese team reached the quarter-finals of an Asian championship was in 2019. That year, the team of coach Park Hang-seo (Korean) also had a strong squad with players such as Quang Hai, Cong Phuong, Que Ngoc Hai, goalkeeper Dang Van Lam... We entered the quarter-finals of the Asian Cup just 1 year after winning the 2018 AFF Cup. The team that defeated the Vietnamese team in the quarter-finals of the 2019 Asian Cup was Japan (1-0). Japan will also be the opponent of coach Philippe Troussier's team in the group stage of the 2023 Asian Cup.

Vietnam entered the quarterfinals of the Asian Cup

Independence

As for the remaining two Southeast Asian teams at this year's Asian Cup, Indonesia and Malaysia, they have never advanced past the group stage. Indonesia has participated in the Asian Championship finals three times, in 1996, 2004 and 2007, before the 2023 Asian Cup. All three times, the Indonesian team was eliminated after the group stage. The same goes for Malaysia, which has participated in the Asian Cup finals three times, in 1976, 1980 and 2007. Like Indonesia, before the 2023 Asian Cup, the Malaysian team has always been eliminated in the group stage of the Asian Championship. It is not impossible that Indonesia and Malaysia will continue to be eliminated early in this year's tournament, as they are in quite difficult groups. Indonesia is in Group D with Japan, Iraq and Vietnam. Malaysia is in Group E with South Korea, Jordan and Bahrain.

Thanhnien.vn

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