Dubai: Vietnam’s Luong Xuan Truong has called on his side to achieve another historic milestone in Thursday’s AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 quarterfinal against Japan.
After squeezing into the knockout stage as the third-placed team in Group D, the Southeast Asians confounded pre-match predictions to beat Jordan on penalties after a 1-1 draw in the Round of 16.
Park Hang-seo’s side’s run to the quarterfinals is the latest achievement in a whirlwind 12 months, which has included reaching the final of the AFC U-23 Championship, the semifinals of the Asian Games, and winning the AFF Championship.
Speaking to the-AFC.com, Xuan Truong — who came off the bench in the first-half of extra-time against Jordan to score in the shootout — said he was hungry for more.
“We are very happy right because we made another piece of history for Vietnamese football,” he said. “(The game against Jordan) was amazing.”
“I hope we can keep playing in the same way against the next opponent, and hope we can make more history for Vietnam.”
Penalty shootouts were also a key feature of Vietnam’s run to the AFC U-23 Championship in China, which featured many members of the current senior squad, with knockout stage wins over Iraq and Qatar both decided by spot-kicks. The success against Jordan gives the side a record of three wins from three in recent times, but Xuan Truong — who has scored in all three of those shootouts — says no team is a ‘penalty specialist’.
“I think we can’t say anything about a penalty shootout, because we never know, before a game, what’s going to happen,” he said.
“We were luckier than Jordan, and I think that’s all it is.”
With four-time champions Japan waiting in the last eight, the stakes continue to rise for Vietnam, who will reach the last four for the first time in their history should they find a way past the Samurai Blue.
When asked how long the Vietnamese fairytale can last, a smiling Xuan Truong said there are no limits.
“I don’t know where this will end, we just want to go as far as we can.”
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