Vietnam may have reached the third round of 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification - but don't expect too much

The national team of Vietnam had lost 2-3 to the United Arab Emirates in a game that Vietnam needed to be assured to be on the third round. However, Vietnam got the luck blessing: Australia, another member from the AFF (ASEAN Football Federation) overcame Jordan by one to nil. By the time the match between Australia and Jordan ended, Vietnam had just ended its first 45 minutes suffering two goals deficit, but because of having 11 points overall, thanked for the good results the Vietnamese gained from Malaysia, Thailand and especially a 1-0 win at home to the Emirates earlier. Hence Vietnam progressed already.

For Vietnam, the achievement was historic: it was the first Vietnamese appearance at this stage. Previously, only Thailand had the honour, twice, not once. Well, the AFF had already had two World Cup participants: Indonesia, back in 1938 as Dutch East Indies; Australia, first in 1974 and from 2006 onward. And yes, only one has the fame: Australia is the only AFF nation on the knockout phase, and on the honourable list, an Asian champions.

Yet at the same time, like the majority of Vietnamese, mine included, don't expect so highly about the national team of Vietnam in the last phase. One thing that confirmed for sure: the lesson of Thailand and Indonesia remain relevant.

Indonesia qualified for the 1938 edition largely due to the withdrawal of Japan rather than playing a fairly competitive game. Back then, the country was a Dutch colony, but retained a high degree of autonomy, hence the name Dutch East Indies. Once they played against Hungary, their weaknesses exposed easy, got trashed 0-6 and was dismissed from the first round. From that point, Indonesia has never qualified again, not to say never makes it to the final round of the qualification, the closest was in the 2002 qualification.

Thailand has never been to World Cup, too. The Thais were the first to enter the final qualification phase of the AFC, back in 2002 one when Thailand held Lebanon 2-2 at home. The second round was a disaster: Thailand lost four and drew four, therefore didn't reach the World Cup. Positive? Two draws against powerhouses Iran and Iraq at home. They repeated this form in the 2018 qualification, yet this ended even more disastrous when Thailand lost eight, only gained two points.

Australia is the only positive thing, but this is also what other AFF members found difficult to reduce the distance. As I mentioned again, Australia played its first World Cup in 1974 before waiting for 32 years to return. Since then, especially joining the AFC in 2006, Australia has utilised the advantage and qualified for every World Cup. Moreover, Australia has the edge of acquiring infrastructural developments ahead of the rest of Southeast Asia, as well as its abnormality - the European heritage that enabled Australian players to appear in several top European football leagues. Australia also won the Asian Cup in 2015, when the tournament was hosted on home soil. No secret that after Australia joined the AFF in 2013, the 11 remaining members forbade Australia from ever participating in the AFF Championship - due to perceived Australian superiority.

That's all we know about. Hence, how could Vietnam think about a World Cup place?

Teams qualified for the final phase.

Well, it is nearly impossible, if not saying entirely. Already within the AFF, only Australia belongs to the elite. Other elite teams are Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia and Iran. These countries frequently appear on the big stage, with only a few were exceptions. It became more notable when Asian football became professionalized to catch up with the international standard, only China and North Korea broke the rank in 2002 and 2010.

Not to mention how low Vietnam is. Since it is the debut of Vietnam in this phase, the national team of Vietnam will definitely be regarded as the weakest. All the remaining teams have some experiences in World Cup or at least participated in this round. Moreover, after the lessons from North Korea, Thailand, Bahrain, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, other teams will be more cautious over Vietnam for fears of another surprise.

However, even when I don't think Vietnam could go further, there are still reasons why Vietnam should continue to commit to this phase. The values from learning these powerful teams are needed: better getting on to the field rather than turning back. Playing against Australia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and Japan are worthy to pay a price, to see how far Vietnam has improved. After all, they're set to qualify anyway, unlike Vietnam.

Still, Vietnam has a lot of business to handle. For the team, this is just the beginning of a long, hazardous journey to the World Cup. Maybe never happen. Maybe it can. Who knows? But again, my word is clear: "Don't expect too much".