VietNamNet Bridge – Viet Nam came from behind to defeat Qatar 2-1 in the second leg of their 2014 World Cup qualifier at Ha Noi's My Dinh Stadium yesterday, July 28.

On target: Nguyen Trong Hoang (right) is congratulated by teammate Le Tan Tai after scoring Viet Nam's first goal in their second leg of the 2014 World Cup second round qualifier. (Photo: VNS)

However the ticket to the next round went to the visitors who won 4-2 on aggregate.

Coach Falko Goetz of Viet Nam made several changes to the team's line-up and tactics in an attempt to overcome a 3-0 deficit.

The German replaced his 4-2-3-1 formation he used in the first leg match last week with the 4-4-2 using top national strikers Le Cong Vinh and Nguyen Ngoc Thanh up front. The defenders were asked to keep their eyes closely on Qatar's big game players.

Despite intense practice, Viet Nam were unable to break down Qatar in the first half, despite a steady stream of crosses from midfielders Le Tan Tai and Nguyen Ngoc Thanh on the wings.

Viet Nam had early chances but it was Qatar who broke the deadlock, with Yousef chesting the ball down and sending an unstoppable volley past goalkeeper Manh Dung into the far corner.

Four minutes later, Vinh had a chance from a corner, but his header was well saved by Burhan in the Qatari net.

Ngoc Thanh, who seemed nervous on the night, missed a glorious chance to level the scoring, choosing to pass rather than shoot when he was one on one with Burhan in the penalty area.

The turning point of the match came in the 33rd minute when captain Phan Van Tai Em was sidelined because of injury.

Goetz replaced him with Nguyen Minh Chau who, according to former national team member Trinh Minh Hue, can play either as a defender or midfielder.

Chau's appearance strengthened the defence and helped his teammates win more possession.

In the second half, Viet Nam looked like a different team.

Vinh's shot was blocked by Burhan, but midfielder Hoang, a key member of the Olympic team, made no mistake with the rebound to level the score for Viet Nam.

Goetz decided to make some changes up front, bringing on Hai.

It was a decisive change, as Hai proceeded to tear the Qatari defence apart. Despite his height disadvantage, he latched onto a cross, sending a strong header goalbound that Burhan could only get a touch to, giving Viet Nam the lead with 10 minutes to play.

"I have not seen Viet Nam play as well as they did tonight. In some parts of the field, they outclassed Qatar, who are considered a stronger team [about 40 places higher in the world rankings]," said former player Hue.

In other qualifying matches, second-half substitute Bahodir Nasimov bagged a brace as Uzbekistan defeated Kyrgyzstan 3-0 to advance to the third round with a 7-0 aggregate victory.

Hosts Kuwait came from a goal down to defeat the Philippines 2-1 to continue their World Cup journey with a 5-1 aggregate win.

China eased through to the next round after a 6-1 defeat of Laos saw Gao Hongbo's side go through with a 13-3 aggregate.

Two goals in each half gave Syria an impressive 4-0 victory against Tajikistan to send the Red Eagles through to the third round with a 6-1 aggregate scoreline.

The third qualifying round draw will be held on July 30 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News