Sports
45915732PM.jpg)
Cultural activities celebrate Việt Nam Heritage Day
1.
 |
| Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc welcomed U23 Việt Nam – the runner-up of the Asian Football Confederation U23 Championship (AFC) in China – in Hà Nội on Sunday.— Photo VGP |
HÀ NỘI — Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc welcomed U23 Việt Nam – the runner-up of the Asian Football Confederation U23 Championship (AFC) in China – in Hà Nội on Sunday, praising their excellent performance at the continental tournament.
The PM affirmed the footballers are champions in the hearts of Vietnamese people.
He highlighted the special role of head coach Park Hang-seo in leading and inspiring confidence in the team and promoting their potential, thus supporting a wonderful tournament performance.
He stressed the significance of football, asking the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Việt Nam Football Federation and other ministries and localities to review and withdraw lessons from the tournament to give due attention to promoting football, training young footballers and developing professional football.
At the meeting, PM Phúc presented the Labour Order, first class, to the national U23 squad and the third-class Labour Order to head coach Park Hang-seo from the Republic of Korea, midfielder Nguyễn Quang Hải and goalkeeper Bùi Tiến Dũng for their excellent achievements at the AFC U23 Championship in China.
Also at the event, the PM presented certificates of merit to 31 members of the U23 squad, including 21 footballers, in recognition of their hard work and success.
The U23 squad also presented the Government top leader with a ball and a football shirt with signatures of all U23 footballers and their board of training.
Việt Nam became the runner-up at the AFC U23 Championship after losing 1-2 to Uzbekistan in the final in Changzhou, China, on Saturday.
The team defeated Australia 1-0 in the group stage. They beat Iraq in the quarterfinals and Qatar in the semifinals with penalty shootouts. With these achievements, Việt Nam became the first Southeast Asian squad to compete in the AFC U23 final.
A ceremony took place later in the day at the Mỹ Đình National Stadium, held by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to honour the footballers and their coach Park. — VNS
