Phạm Tuấn Hải scored Việt Nam's only goal in their 3-1 defeat against Iraq in the final match of Group F of the AFC qualifiers of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. — Photo VFF

Football

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam coach Kim Sang-sik praised his players' efforts despite losing 3-1 to Iraq in the final match of Group F of the AFC qualifiers of the 2026 FIFA World Cup early Wednesday morning (Hà Nội time).

This result meant the Vietnamese team finished the second qualifying round with six points, ranking third overall.

Iraq and Indonesia, who finished first and second, respectively in Group F, progress to the third round of the World Cup qualifying tournament, and also qualified for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia.

After the match, coach Kim Sang-sik said: "The weather in Iraq was very hot, and the Vietnamese team had to work hard to cope with the conditions here. However, the players tried their best, they did everything they could in this match."

Việt Nam scored three goals and conceded five times in the first two matches under the guidance of the newly-appointed coach Kim. The defeat against Iraq at Basra Stadium was also Việt Nam's fifth consecutive defeat against Iraq.

"Vietnamese players really played to find victory. They always played with a spirit of dedication," Kim said.

"Of course, with such a result, we were very disappointed. The whole team were a bit tired because of the tight schedule and matches. However, I still emphasised that the Vietnamese team tried their best and were dedicated."

Iraq team’s coach Jesus Casas gave many compliments to the playing style that coach Kim is building.

Casas said: "The match was quite difficult, especially in the first half. However, the goals came, contributing to helping the Iraqi team win the match. We gave chances to new players and I'm very happy about that.

“The Vietnamese team have made a lot of progress, different from the previous matches and it was not easy for us to win. Although playing at home, Iraq had to face high temperatures and a very well-organised defence of the Vietnamese team."

In the match, two long range shots from Hussein Ali and Ali Jasim gave the home side a comfortable lead, before a volley from outside the box by Phạm Tuấn Hải pulled one back for Việt Nam.

Aymen Hussein stopped any comeback hopes scoring in added time to seal Iraq's 3-1 victory, and their 100 per cent record in the group stage.

Việt Nam are out of the World Cup, and may well face a tough draw in the next qualifying round of the Asian Cup.

At the Asian Cup 2027, 24 teams are divided into six groups, each group has four teams, playing in a round-robin format to calculate points. Only the team ranked first in each group will qualify for the final round. VNS