The Vietnamese sporting delegation put in an excellent performance throughout the SEA Games 30, resulting in a highly successful campaign which saw the athletes win a total of 288 medals, including 98 golds, 85 silvers, and 105 bronzes, ranking second in the competition’s final medal tally. Most notably this year’s tournament marks the first time that members of the country’s sporting delegation achieved gold medal wins in tennis and both the men’s and women’s football events.

Hanoi hosted the AFF Awards Night 2019 on the evening of November 8. The  event saw the Vietnamese national team clinch the AFF National Team of the Year in the men’s category following their successful 2018 AFF Cup campaign, in addition to their run into the knockout stages of the 2019 Asian Cup run. The nation’s midfield maestro Nguyen Quang Hai successfully beat off competition from Thai star Chanathip Songkrasin to secure the title of AFF Player of the Year in the men’s category. Elsewhere, Vietnam’s head coach Park Hang-seo won the AFF Coach of the Year in the men’s category.

The Vietnamese men’s football team officially announce themselves as one of the leading eight teams in Asia following their performance at the Asian Cup 2019. During the tournament, the nation successfully made it out of the group stages after being faced by strong competition from the likes of Yemen, Iran, and Iraq. Following brilliant efforts by the team led by head coach Park Hang-seo, Vietnam made it to the quarter-final stage where they were eventually defeated by Japan. Elsewhere in the second qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup in the Asian region, Vietnam are currently leading Group G with a total of 11 points following three wins and two draws.

The Vietnamese futsal team secure a third-place finish in the Futsal HDBank Championship Southeast Asia 2019. In doing so the team have won the right to compete in the AFC Futsal Championship Finals which are due to take place next year in Turkmenistan.

Swimmer Nguyen Huy Hoang and gymnast Le Thanh Tung become the first Vietnamese athletes to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Globally, the United States are victors in the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2019 after defeating the Netherlands 2-0 in the final. The win represents the fourth time that the US has won the FIFA Women’s World Cup.

Portugal win the inaugural UEFA Nations League after defeating the Netherlands 1-0 in the final.

Liverpool win their sixth Champions League title after a win over Tottenham Hotspurs.

Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge becomes the first person to run a marathon in under two hours with a time of 1 hour 59 minutes 40 seconds.

Rafael Nadal retains his position as world number one according to the 2019 Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) rankings.

VOV