COACH Park Hang-seo has cautioned Vietnam that making the leap from Asean dominance to challenging Asia’s best won’t be easy and it is a step that can only be achieved with long-term plans.
The South Korean has guided Vietnam to several successes since being appointed head coach in 2017, with the U-23 team finishing runners-up in last year’s AFC Under-23 Championship and the senior side winning the regional AFF Cup, achieved after a 10-year wait.
That was followed by a quarter-final appearance in the Asian Cup early this year and on Tuesday, Vietnam ended a 60-year wait for the regional Sea Games gold.
The achievements have heightened expectations that Vietnam are ready to step up to the next level, by qualifying for next year’s Tokyo Olympics through the AFC Under-23 Championship in Thailand and the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
“In Southeast Asia, we’ve accomplished our goals at both the U-23 and senior levels, but the important thing for us is to maintain our position,” he told Yonhap News Agency.
“We have the AFF Cup coming up next year and another Sea Games two years later. Just because we’re the best in Southeast Asia, that doesn’t mean we’ll be able to take on the world in just a couple of years.
“We need long-term plans to make it to the Olympics and the World Cup, and I don’t think it’ll be easy.”
Vietnam’s bid to qualify for next year’s Olympics will begin in Group D of the AFC Under-23 Championship in Thailand, with North Korea, Jordan and United Arab Emirates their challengers.
The top two teams will progress to the quarter-finals but a place in Tokyo will only be sealed with a top-three finish in the tournament.
They are doing great in the Asian Qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup and 2023 Asian Cup, with Vietnam top of Group G with 11 points from five matches.
Winning the group will ensure a place in the third round of the World Cup qualifiers and an automatic berth in the Asian Cup.
“For the AFC Under-23 Championship, we’ll try to make it to the knockout phase first and go from there.
“For the Asian qualifiers, we’ll travel to Malaysia for our sixth match in March next year. If we win that, I think we’ll be in a pretty good position to reach the next round.” AFC