Vietnam in Group B of the Asian Games football tournament reached the last 16 on Saturday in China’s Guangzhou despite of their 0-1 defeat to Iran, and will take on North Korea in the knock-out round.
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| Vietnam midfielder Pham Thanh Luong (in red) is challenged by an Iranian player during their Asian Games match in China’s Guangzhou on Nov. 13, 2010. Iran won 1-0. (Photo: SGGP) |
This is the first time Vietnam have made it since they first joined the Asian Games in 1998.
Iran, the 2002 Asian Games champions, topped Group B after three wins, followed by Turkmenistan in second spot and Vietnam third. Bahrain were at the bottom with one point.
Vietnam beat Bahrain 3-1 in their opener and then lost 2-6 to the Turkmen in their second game.
Vietnam survived the group stage as a best third-placed team. Going through the same way were Malaysia from Group A, India from Group D and Uzbekistan in Group E.
China in Group A reached the knock-out stage Saturday with a 3-0 win over Malaysia and who will play South Korea for a place in the quarter-finals,
Malaysia still will meet Iran while Japan will tackle India for a quarter-final place. The other matches are Qatar vs. Uzbekistan, UAE vs. Kuwait, Oman vs. Hong Kong, and Turkmenistan vs. Thailand.
