Vietnam come second at King’s Cup 2019
Foreign papers regret Vietnam’s losing Kings’ Cup to Curacao

Park Hang-seo celebrates with his players after beating Thailand 1-0 in the King's Cup on Wednesday. — Photo courtesy of VFF

The Viet Nam Football Federation (VFF) decided to reward the team because it was an important victory over their long-standing arch-rivals.

Veteran Nguyen Anh Duc headed home the only goal of the match in the final minute of added time.

It was only Vietnam’s third win in their 22 matches against Thailand since December 1995.

VFF President Le Khanh Hai sent his congratulations to the team, praising strong spirit of the ASEAN champions and their confidence even while playing on Thai ground.

He said the bonus was designed to encourage Park Hang-seo and his players, who will meet Curacao in the final on Saturday.

The King’s Cup is a friendly tournament but this year it falls during the FIFA international break, meaning it will count towards teams' FIFA rankings – scores that are used to determine seeding at big tournaments.

VNS