Anh Đức

For young people in Việt Nam, talking about 2018 brings back a feeling of profound joy and nostalgia.

What took place eight years ago led to what was perceived by many to be the best year in recent football history, and the event that kicked it off was none other than the 'Miracle of Changzhou', in which Việt Nam's U23 national team finished as runners-up in the 2018 AFC U23 Championship.

In Nhân Dân (People) newspaper's TV documentary series titled 'Việt Nam of the Hồ Chí Minh era', the episode retelling the year 2018 stated that Việt Nam's U23 journey in the tournament had "transcended the boundaries of a sporting event, and became an inspiration for Vietnamese society to step into 2018 achieving and exceeding multiple socio-economic goals."

Many people might have asked: "How is it so memorable, since you didn't win the tournament?"

The Miracle of Changzhou was memorable because the feeling of joy that it brought was long awaited and bottled up for almost a decade.

Not since 2008 was a Vietnamese team celebrated by so many millions across the country. After the victory of the 2008 AFF Championship came disappointment after disappointment. The latest, in 2017, saw Việt Nam eliminated by Thailand in the SEA Games with an embarrassing loss.

The results of 2017 were so bad that people even forgot that later that same year, Việt Nam's U23 team participated in the AFC U23 Championship. Placed in a group with continental giants Australia and South Korea, hopes were not high for Vietnamese fans.

The first game, a 1-2 loss to South Korea, failed to pull in more viewers, but a shocking 1-0 victory against Australia reignited beliefs. Việt Nam then squeezed through the group stage with a 0-0 draw against Syria to face Iraq in the quarter-finals.

Iraq was one of Việt Nam's toughest opponents, and had a tendency to give Việt Nam heartbreaking last-minute losses. The match, which was voted one of the best in tournament history, was nothing but a rollercoaster of emotions: Việt Nam went ahead, but Iraq equalised after an ambiguous penalty.

The match then went to extra time, during which Việt Nam fell behind, but they soon equalised and even got the lead. A late equaliser by Iraq sent the game to penalties, but the Vietnamese players stayed strong to win the match 5-3 on the spot.

Việt Nam's next opponent, Qatar, was a squad assembled for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and had won all their matches before the semi-finals. Qatar got ahead twice during regulation time, but Nguyễn Quang Hải stepped up and forced the match to extra time with two spectacular goals. Hải later missed the first kick in the shootout, but his teammate Bùi Tiến Dũng pulled off two heroic saves to send Việt Nam to their first-ever continental final in early 2018.

If anyone at the beginning of the tournament said that Việt Nam could even make it past the group stage, not to mention having a chance of winning it all, I'd recommend they see a doctor. But this team changed it all for everyone in the country.

In 2018, a team that had never even won a regional U23 tournament became the first Southeast Asian team to make it to the final of a continental tournament, with all the strong opponents and disadvantages thrown at them – an underdog story for the ages.

Fast forward to 2026, and Việt Nam's U23 players are one victory away from repeating the result of their predecessors. The feeling of pride seems to have returned, but Việt Nam are no longer the underdogs. Kim Sang-sik's men pose a real danger to their opponents. They are fully capable of playing an active and fair game, and could win the match even in regulation time instead of delaying to penalties.

The feeling now is that this team could do more than repeating the events of 2018. They could even surpass them and open up a new era of Vietnamese football. VNS