Vietnam reaches ASIAD 2026 quarter-finals: The glory of the defeated lies in the run before the goal

In the 68th minute at Paloma Mizuho Stadium, Ibraimov received the ball near the penalty area. Pham Ly Duc followed him step by step, but could not touch the ball. The powerful shot went into the near corner, leaving Cao Van Binh rooted. I stood in the stands, in a strange silence. Vietnam had just lost 0-2 to Uzbekistan, but no one was crying, because a quarter-final ticket was already in hand. I opened my notebook and wrote: “The pitch never lies; we just are not patient enough to listen.” Right in front of me, Ibraimov was still celebrating. But I looked toward the tunnel. There, Nguyen Xuan Bac limped away, shirt over his shoulder, and I understood that the score 0-2 did not tell the whole story. Before the match, coach Dinh Hong Vinh said the team intended to start cautiously. Uzbekistan were the strongest side in Group C, not only physically but also in the way they raised the tempo from the first whistle. Five minutes after kickoff, Mohammadali Urinboev put the ball in the net. That was the price of a moment of lost concentration. After the goal, Vinh's players regained their composure. They controlled more possession and created some chances. Nguyen Thai Quoc Cuong shot but was blocked, Nguyen Ngoc My missed the target. Nguyen Thanh Nhan put the ball in the net, but the referee ruled offside. The biggest turning point came in the 35th minute: Xuan Bac suffered an injury and had to leave the field. Vietnam lost their transitional rhythm in midfield. The second half began with stalemate. In the 68th minute, Ibraimov punished a hesitant defensive situation. The second goal did not come because Vietnam pushed too high, but because Pham Ly Duc was left alone against Ibraimov. The Uzbek player cut inside, changed direction, and shot hard inside the box. The score was 0-2. After the match, coach Dinh Hong Vinh said: “If the early first-half chances had become goals, the game could have been different.” He also admitted the finishing problem and the lack of cohesion after three days of preparation. But I do not want to stop at that statement. Vietnam's three group matches can be told with a simple count: 51 shots, 17 on target, three goals. From a distance, that count still looks beautiful. But I will not romanticize it. 51 shows a young team dares to shoot. 17 shows relative accuracy. 3 shows the problem lies in space, not effort. Based on my experience watching matches, I notice Vietnam plays many passes in front of the box, but rarely stretches the opponent's defence before shooting. Most shots come from outside the penalty area, while through-balls are intercepted. Coach Dinh Hong Vinh is right that the team does not exploit the final third well. But I want to be more precise: the team moves the ball close to the goal, then stands still against a crowded defence. They lack line-breaking passes and runs behind the defenders. Thanh Nhan's disallowed goal was a valuable exception. The run was right in timing and intention, only a few tenths of a second too early. Football is cruel at that level. Xuan Bac's injury in the 35th minute was not just a personnel loss. Before leaving, he was the only player who consistently received the ball in the space between Uzbekistan's lines. When he disappeared, Vietnam switched from central play to wide play. But the full-backs lacked connection with the forwards. The ball reached the final third, then came back. I saw a team lose its memory within ten minutes after Xuan Bac left: they still kept the ball, but no longer had ideas to break through. In the second half, coach Vinh tried to adjust, but Uzbekistan had dropped deep and controlled the space. Vietnam's midfield could not fill the gap in front of the defence. Xuan Bac was absent, and no one recognized that gap. What strikes me most is how the team qualified. Vietnam did not decide their own fate: they lost to Uzbekistan, but the Philippines beat Kuwait 2-1. Thanks to that result, Vietnam finished second in Group C with 4 points, five points behind Uzbekistan and one point ahead of the Philippines. Football is full of such stories. A team loses its last group match and still advances. Another team wins its last match and goes home. I do not call that luck. It is a reward for all three matches, with enough good moments to stay in the leading positions. But luck in football is often the child of patience, and this journey is still very long. Their quarter-final opponent could be South Korea. South Korea only need a draw against Saudi Arabia in the last match of Group D to be certain of topping the group. They have three quality overage players, deep squad strength, and huge motivation: the gold medal would exempt their players from mandatory military service under Korean law. A team with such motivation will not show mercy. They will wait for set pieces, quick counter-attacks, and one defensive mistake. If Vietnam keep the ratio of 51 shots but only three goals, the quarter-final could be their last match at ASIAD 2026. Coach Dinh Hong Vinh is satisfied with the attitude and fighting spirit of his players. I believe that. He also said the new group will gain experience by playing alongside the players who took part in the U23 Asian Cup 2026 finals. But in a short tournament, experience must come quickly. Three days of preparation is not an excuse. Every team has three days. After three group matches, the necessary adjustments should be clear: improve finishing quality, improve transition play, and find a way to survive without a central midfielder. If they do that, the quarter-final will no longer be a milestone. If not, we will talk again about a talented generation lacking the necessary ruthlessness. There is a comfortable way of thinking that the crowd often chooses: if those early first-half chances had been converted, Vietnam would not have lost. Coach Vinh himself said 'the game could have been different'. But I think that is a trap. Missed chances are not accidents; they are a mirror reflecting the attacking structure. If Vietnam had scored from an outside shot, the match might have been different, but the root problem would still be there. A team that depends on individual moments to score is not sustainable. The 0-2 defeat to Uzbekistan could be a gift: it gives coach Dinh Hong Vinh a true picture before the most important match. The glory of the defeated is the light that only those who stay can pick up. And I believe a painful defeat is worth more than three easy points. On September 25, at Paloma Mizuho Stadium, Vietnam will play the quarter-final. I am not going there to wait for a miracle. I am going to see whether this team can bend down to pick up the light left by defeat. The heart still beats, even when the stands no longer applaud. People remember the name of the goalscorer, but I remember the run ten seconds before the goal. For Vietnam, those ten seconds are still ahead. The question is not whether they will advance further. The question is whether they can learn to put the ball in the exact place where the opponent feels pain before the crowd has time to hold its breath.