Vietnam was very close in placing its name on the history when the team took a lead against Qatar in its second match. Vietnam who secured three points on the match against UAE would comfortably sitting in the top two places in Group B if the team secured another three points in the game against Qatar. Relentless hammering architected by Qatar’s powerful striker, Sebastian Quintana, shattered such hope. Now Vietnam’s spot is not safe since the team only has four points.

Qatar also sits amiably in the second place right now with two points. At the moment this preview is written, the match between Japan and United Arab Emirates (UAE) is still on the way, so Qatar’s position might be replaced by both teams. The result of Japan match against UAE has little effect on the nature of the third match whatsoever. Should Japan grab a win; Japan would sit on the second or first place with four points. Qatar still has strong chance in advancing to the next round if one of Vietnam or Japan failed to grab three points in this match.

Vietnam who was ecstatic after Phan Thanh Binh scored the team opener against Qatar. With only 10 minutes before full time, the team looked strong in advancing to the next round. Quintana’s late equalizer shattered such hope and Vietnam has to battle its way to the quarter final with Japan. Vietnam’s side picked up some injuries during the match against Qatar. Goalkeeper, Duong Hong Son, and defender, Vu Nhu Thanh, showed a bad physical condition after several collisions with Qatar players.

Japan on the other hand is as strong as ever and would be fighting very hard to snatch a win following Ivica Osim’s furious anger in its first match against Qatar. Osim called his players as amateur and wanted them to show their best performance regardless the opponent’s quality. With this said, Japan is sure to display its best performance in this game. Vietnam v Japan will take part on July 16^th.