Vietnamese fitness startup raises $1mn pre-series A funding

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Vietnamese fitness startup WeFit has successfully raised US$1 million of funding in a pre-series A round from an Asia Pacific-based venture capital firm and other angel investors on Wednesday.

WeFit, which helps connect workout enthusiasts with fitness studios across Vietnam, announced yesterday that the Tokyo-headquartered CyberAgent Capital was among the deal closers of the funding round.

Nguyen Khoi, Founder and CEO of WeFit, said the capital will be used for the development of the next phase of its products and new market expansion.

“Receiving investment from funds like CyberAgent Capital will help WeFit shorten the time needed to explore markets and bring services to many people faster,” he added.

The fitness studio platform is expected to reach one million app users this year, according to Khoi.

Founded in late 2016, WeFit is a mobile app providing users with basic beauty and fitness care packages at more than 1,000 locations in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

The mobile app only requires a few simple touches on smartphones to help users find a training schedule that fits them best, with a variety of fitness activities such as yoga, zumba, boxing, and exercise workouts at the closest gym with the highest quality.

WeFit is handling more than 150,000 bookings per month and helping partners grow profits by an average of ten percent per month.

The startup recently received the 2018 Startup of the Year in Vietnam Award at the ASEAN Rice Bowl Awards.

In 2017, WeFit used to receive investment from the Vietnamese venture capital firm ESP Capital and accelerator and seed-stage fund VIISA.

WeFit is expected to continue to call for series A investment in 2019.

Source: Tuoitrenews

Vietnamese passport remains a low flyer

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The Vietnamese passport continues to be among those with the least visa free access at 87th among 104 economies.
 On the Henley Passport Index 2019, a Vietnamese passport is only slightly more powerful than Myanmar among Southeast Asian neighbors, with visa free access to 51 destinations, three more than the latters’ 48 countries.

Laos has surpassed Vietnam to claim the 86th in the global index, gaining two positions from last year.

Singapore and Malaysia have the most powerful passports in the region, the former standing second in the world with visa exemption from 189 countries and the latter 12th with 179 countries.

The region’s biggest economy, Indonesia has gone down from 69th last year to 72nd this year.

Globally, Singapore shares its second spot with South Korea.

Japan has overtaken Singapore to have the most powerful passport in the world in 2019, with its citizens able to visit 190 countries and territories without applying for a visa.

France and Germany share the third rank; Denmark, Finland, Italy and Sweden share the fourth; followed by Luxembourg and Spain in fifth.

With the Donald Trump administration pursuing a more hostile immigration policy than his predecessors, the U.S. has lost its throne as the most powerful passport in the world.

This year, the American passport has fallen to sixth, down one place from last year and five from top rank in 2015.

The world’s weakest passports come from poor countries mired in conflict like Syria, Somalia, Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Passport holders from these nations can only visit between 32 and 39 other countries without visas.

The Henley Passport Index, released early this month, ranked passports of 199 countries and territories in the world based on data from the International Air Transport Association, which maintains the world’s largest and most comprehensive database of travel information.

“The latest ranking shows that despite rising isolationist sentiment in some parts of the world, many countries remain committed to collaboration,” Christian H. Kälin, group chairman of Henley & Partners, said in a statement.

He said the growing trend towards visa openness is unlikely to slow down. Overall, 2019 looks set to hold “some surprises in the travel freedom space as more countries and citizens embrace the benefits of global mobility,” he said.

Vnexpress

VIB relocated its branch in Dong Nai to improve customer experience

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The Vietnam International Bank (VIB) has relocated its branch in the southern province of Dong Nai as part of its increasing effort to bring convenience and a safe experience to customers.

The Dong Nai branch is now based on Vo Thi Sau Street, Thong Nhat Ward, Bien Hoa City, the bank said in a statement.

VIB started its operation in Dong Nai Province since 2005, after 13 years, VIB has become one of the leading banks with one branch and four transaction offices.

As of January 2019, VIB Dong Nai has served more than 100,000 individual customers and hundreds of medium and large enterprises, helping meet the financial needs of local people and supplementing business capital for households and companies.

At the end of 2018, total lending and deposits of VIB in Dong Nai reached more than US$94.4 million and $180.3 million, respectively.

Ho Van Long

“The strong investment in facilities at VIB Dong Nai demonstrates our long-term commitment and powerful development in the locality to meet financial plans of individual and corporate enterprises in the area,” said Mr. Ho Van Long, the Deputy CEO and Head of Retail Banking at VIB.

“This is also a part of VIB’s roadmap for its new sales and service model putting customers at the centre since 2009,” Long added.

2018 an eventful year for $500 million ride-hailing market

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Warned of the stiff competition, more investors nevertheless joined the e-hailing market after the departure of Uber last year.

Last March, Ngoc Son, a driver for UberMoto in Hanoi, noticed on his mobile phone the words ‘chao mung Uber gia nhap dai gia dinh Grab’ (welcome to Grab family).

That was how Son, like many other drivers, received information about Grab. He joined GoViet’s driver staff from October of the same year.

In April, Uber left Vietnam after launching ‘e-hailing culture’ in the country, leaving Grab as the only player in the Vietnam’s $500 million e-hailing market. At that time, experts were concerned about a possible monopoly by Grab. However, new rivals turned up just one month later. Grab now has more rivals than ever before.

Vato, Aber, Mai Linh Bike and others presented themselves before the public, revealing plans to pour hundreds of million of dollars and use thousands of drivers from e-hailing apps.

FastGo and Go-Viet follow two major strategies – offering ‘next-to-nothing fee’ and using the motto ‘Vietnamese use Vietnamese apps’.

Go-Jek, the owner of Go-Viet, has stated that Go-Viet has 35 percent of the motorbike hailing market share in HCM City, and the app has got 1.5 million downloads after six weeks of launching.

However, many of them had to leave the market just after a short time of operation.

With 175,000 car and motorbike drivers, Grab remains the biggest name. However, the firm is now competing with rivals such as Go Viet, Be and Fastgo.

Go Viet said that it has 30 percent of market share in Hanoi and 35 percent in HCM City. To obtain this achievement, since its debut, Go-Viet has been running sale promotion campaigns with surprisingly low service fees, just VND1,000 for one trip.

Meanwhile, Be, which debuted one month ago, has also launched marketing campaigns. And Grab and Fastgo have been trying to lure customers with super-chip services.

Ngoc Son, the former UberMoto driver, now is a driver for Grab and Go Viet.

Traditional taxi firms, which complained about the unhealthy competition, have finally realized that the new trend is unavoidable. Instead of lodging complaints to management agencies, traditional taxi firms have begun developing e-hailing apps of their own.

In August 2018, three taxi firms Thanh Cong, Sao Ha Noi and Ba Sao joined forces to set up the G7 Taxi Alliance.

According to a report on Vietnamnet

61 missing Vietnamese tourists found in Taiwan

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As of January 8, 61 of the 152 Vietnamese tourists who went missing in Taiwan in late 2018 had been found, with 39 of them men and the remainder women. During the search, Taiwanese police also found many other illegal Vietnamese laborers, Thanh Nien Online newspaper reported.

According to the National Immigration Agency of Taiwan, 31 of them had turned themselves in to the police, while the remainder had been arrested by police and the competent agencies, which left 87 still at large.

The police on January 8 found four members of the tour groups that went missing in late December last year and four other illegal Vietnamese laborers in the Wuqi District of Taichung.

Specifically, after observing a van taking Vietnamese from Hsinchu to Taichung, the police entered a building in Wuqi and found four of the tour group members and three other illegal workers. Another illegal Vietnamese worker was found hiding inside a refrigerator.

The police noted that the stowaway, 1.6 meters tall and weighing 50 kilograms, had been hiding from authorities for 1,278 days. He was allegedly responsible for arranging for a car to pick up the four missing Vietnamese tourists.

Earlier, the police also captured three other illegal Vietnamese workers who were hiding under a bed in an apartment in Hsinchu City.

As shared by several Vietnamese workers in Taiwan, illegal workers find ways to escape and hide when the police launch raids, such as by jumping through windows, hiding inside trash bins, hiding on the roof or running into forests, where they are often injured or killed.

According to a report on SGT

Vietnam among hottest destinations for US travellers in 2019

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Vietnam has been named among the top ten hot destinations for US travellers in 2019 by the US Tour Operators Association (USTOA).

In an article themed “Where will US travellers explore in 2019? Top trends, destinations and anniversaries” published on USA TODAY, USTOA mentioned Italy as the most popular destination for travellers in 2019.

“The top 10 hot destinations for the coming year also included Iceland, which ranked second. It was followed by Japan, Vietnam, Australia, France, Spain, Colombia, Cambodia and Portugal,” it said.

The ranking was based on a recent survey conducted by PriceWaterhouseCoopers, the tour operator members of the USTOA.

Vietnam has also entered the list of the top 10 off-the-beaten path or emerging destinations by USTOA members. Iceland again ranked first and Cambodia came in second. Other destinations are Croatia, Colombia, Portugal, Bhutan, Bolivia, Myanmar and Ethiopia.

“It’s interesting to see five destinations – Iceland, Cambodia, Colombia, Vietnam and Portugal – appear on both the hot destinations and emerging destinations lists,” says Terry Dale, President and CEO of USTOA.

“This tells us that off-the-beaten path travel experiences continue to grow in popularity,” he said.

In a recent Booking.com survey, 45% of 21,500 global travellers said they want to be more adventurous in their choice of destinations in 2019 than they were in 2018.

About 82% of USTOA’s members are offering art and culture travel experiences. The art and culture category was the highest ranked experiential tour type last year based on sales volume.

In 2018, Vietnam is estimated to serve some 15.5 million-15.6 million foreign tourists and 80 million domestic travellers, generating VND620 trillion (US$26.66 billion) in tourism revenue.

The number of international tourist arrivals surged three-fold from 5 million in 2010 to over 15 million in 2018.

Also this year, the country has won a series of international awards, recognising it as a safe and friendly destination. Vietnam was named “Asia’s Leading Destination” for the first time at the 2018 World Travel Awards in Hong Kong this September. Two months later, it was honoured with the title of “Asia’s best golf destination in 2018” at the Golf World Travel Awards.

In 2019, Vietnam expects to welcome some 103 million visitors, including around 18 million foreigners and 85 million domestic travellers, up 15% and 6%, respectively, from 2018.

The sector is hoped to contribute more than 10% of the GDP and create 6 million jobs, including 2 million direct jobs. Meanwhile, it expects to serve 32 million foreign tourists and more than 130 million domestic visitors in 2025.

According to a report on Nhan Dan

Vietnam reaps sixth straight record year in foreign investment

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Trade war drives 9% gain in 2018, pulling garment production from China

Foreign direct investment in Vietnam climbed 9.1% in 2018 to reach $19.1 billion, the government reports, marking a sixth straight annual record as capital keeps flowing into one of Southeast Asia’s fastest-growing economies.

Industries such as apparel have been moving production out of China and into Vietnam looking to escape the higher U.S. tariffs. A prolonged trade war is expected to accelerate this shift.

Vietnam is Asia’s biggest beneficiary of the Sino-U.S. trade war, according to Mizuho Research Institute, which estimates the effect will be a 0.5 percentage point boost to its real gross domestic product.

Though investment approvals fell 1.2% in 2018 to $35.4 billion for the first decrease in four years, the dip may be due to the figure not including the large fossil-fuel power plant projects in central and southern Vietnam that received green lights in 2017.

Japan led all nations in 2018 with FDI approvals for Vietnam totaling $8.5 billion. South Korea ranked second at $7.2 billion, followed by Singapore, Hong Kong and mainland China.

Approvals last year included the Hanoi “smart city” project, in which Japanese trading house Sumitomo Corp. takes part, as well as liquid crystal display and camera facility investment by South Korea’s LG group in the northeastern city of Haiphong.

Vietnamese real GDP growth is estimated at 7.08%, according to government data. But heavy economic reliance on foreign companies represents a concern. South Korea’s Samsung Electronics accounts for roughly 25% of Vietnam’s overall exports by value.

“For sustainable growth, Vietnam needs to ease its dependence on foreign capital,” said Hiromasa Matsuura, an economist at Mizuho Research Institute.

Vietnam, with a population of nearly 100 million, ranks third among the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, trailing just Indonesia and the Philippines. The country’s middle-income population is expanding in large cities, including the capital and the southern commercial center, Ho Chi Minh City.

According to a report on Nikkei

Trading accounts in VN reach 2.2 million in 2018

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The number of trading accounts rose by 260,000 to reach nearly 2.2 million as of the end of 2018, according to the Vietnam Securities Depository (VSD).

Of the total, 2.14 million accounts or 98.2 per cent were individual Vietnamese investors.

The number was only 2.2 per cent of the country’s total population (nearly 97 million), which was modest, according to VSD.

The number of foreign investor accounts at the end of 2018 was nearly 28,300 – up 5,733 from the previous year.

According to VSD, the rapid increase in the number of securities trading accounts was due to the strong growth of the Vietnamese stock market.

The benchmark VN-Index on the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange touched its record high of 1,204.33 points on April 9, 2018 – gaining 130 per cent from January 22, 2016.

The number of trading accounts in the Vietnamese market increased from 1.58 million in 2015 to nearly 2.2 million in 2018.

Source: VNS

Fetus-like tissue removed from Vietnamese boy

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Doctors in Ho Chi Minh City said Tuesday they had excised a group fetus-like tissues that caused a young child’s abdomen to grow unusually in size.

After a medical scan, the four-year-old boy named T.T.P. was found to have a mass of tissue, a spine, skull and ribs develop inside him.

The mass, around 12 centimeters in diameter and 1.5 kilograms in weight, occupied more than half of the right part of his abdomen, according to Nguyen Tran Viet Tanh, a doctor at the Pediatrics Hospital 2, where the child was operated.

It was linked to his kidneys and an aterty in the pelvis while impeding the flow of urine in a tube from the urine to bladder, Tanh said.

The boy suffered from a very rare congenital anomaly known as fetus in fetu, said Vu Truong Nhan – deputy head of a department at the infirmary.

Fetus in fetu is a less-known phenomenon that has had around 200 cased reported so far worldwide and admitted two explanatory theories.

One says the mass is a normal fetus that forms inside its twin while the other supposes it is a highly develooped type of tumor, having the tissue of bone, muscle and hair.

Nhan advises women three months into pregnancy to avoid exposure to dangerous chemicals and radioactive substances and only use medince prescribed by doctors even when it is a herbal remedy.

Source: Tuoitrenews

Chinese aluminum a big threat to Vietnam’s manufacturing

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Vietnamese aluminum manufacturers and high-end product importers are worried about cheap Chinese products flooding the domestic market.

Pointing to the idle plot of land next to a factory in Tu Liem IZ in Hanoi, Nguyen Hong Linh, the owner of an aluminum enterprise, complained that his production expansion plan had to be postponed.

The gloomy market and the flood of cheap Chinese products have made it impossible to implement the plan, though he has arranged enough capital.

“My factory has had to cut output since the beginning of the year,” he said.

Many other aluminum manufacturers have also reduced output. Some enterprises reportedly are running at 30-40 percent of designed capacity.

Vu Van Phu, chair of Vietnam-France Aluminum, said that while domestically made products have to undergo inspection about origin, quality and production processes, Chinese imports do not have to bear any examination.

The higher VAT input tax refund for Chinese exports is also creating competition. Under the new policy, which took effect in September, the tax refund rate was lifted from 9 percent to 13 percent. As a result, domestic manufacturers cannot sell their products at prices high enough to cover production costs.

Experts said there is a wave of low-cost Chinese imports to Vietnam. Not only steel, but other industrial products such as coal and aluminum, have flooded Vietnam. The oversupply has prompted China to boost exports to neighboring markets, including Vietnam.

The World Aluminum Association estimates that China is supplying more than half of the total aluminum supply all over the globe.

In related news, in early December 2018, the US International Trade Commission (ITC) decided to impose anti-dumping duties of 96.3-176.2 percent on aluminum imports from China for five years.

IDC’s decision was made after an investigation that was initiated after the US Department of Commerce charged that the US manufacturers are suffering from Chinese products being dumped in the US market.

US aluminum imports increased by 750 percent over the last decade, and more than 90 percent in 2014-2017.

This is not the first time the US has applied safeguard measures against Chinese imports. In early 2018, the US raised the import tariff on Chinese products to 10 percent to prevent cheap imports and unhealthy competition.

However, the US anti-dumping duty has raised worries among Vietnamese enterprises.

They have been warned that Chinese products will go through Vietnam before heading for the US in order to have ‘Vietnamese origin’, which would allow Chinese firms to avoid high taxes.

Source: VNN

Gold anticipated to keep climbing in 2019

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Global economic uncertainties, the weakening US dollar, and the growing trade tension between the US and China are anticipated to drive the gold forward in 2019.

The gold hit $1,297.1 per ounce in Asia on the January 4 trading session right after the New Year holiday, jumping more than $10 per ounce (0.7 per cent) compared to the previous day.

This was the largest growth in the past six months, driving the gold price near the $1,300 benchmark.

Local gold experts claim gold has been on an upward trend for nearly two months and it has picked up nearly $100 per ounce since mid-November last year.

Analysts at major local jewel company Phu Nhuan Jewelry JSC have attributed the soaring gold to the weakening USD in the global market, which lost 0.6 percentage points to 96.02 points, and the sharply declining US stock market in recent trading sessions.

Tran Thanh Hai, chairman of the Vietnam Gold Business Corporation (VGB) commented that the appreciating USD in the past year (driven by the US Federal Reserve’s repeated hikes) was one of the major factors holding back the surge in gold price in 2018, and the currency’s weakening would reverse this trend, putting wind in the sails of gold.

Analysts at major local commercial lender Eximbank were also of the opinion that the weakening greenback and the continuing US-China tension, as well as economic vulnerabilities underpin the price of gold this year.

Experts even forecast that the rising gold could be the leading trend throughout the year.

According to the World Gold Council (WGC), there is a high likelihood for an upsurge in gold prices this year as international investors have few risk hedge assets in the current context of increasing economic and geopolitical uncertainties.

Global investors have increased buying greenbacks as a means to mitigate risks amid the intensifying US-China trade spat, but the situation this year might be different as gold is forecast to be a safe asset for risk mitigation, while the USD will lose its shine.

US Citi Bank unveiled that they would start buying the precious metal when it fell to a more attractive level.

The bank analysts predicted that as the global stock market has been on a continuous fall, some major economies have been coming out with stimulus programmes, and amid rising geo-political risks, gold could beat the $1,300 per ounce benchmark this year and might even reach $1,400 per ounce by the end of the third quarter, averaging $1,365 per ounce in the whole year.

Many local financial experts agreed that the gold’s upward trend could maintain well into this year by virtue of strong supportive factors.

Simultaneously, regardless of market movements, the price of gold is always higher in the domestic market, and the price gap is forecast to average VND4 million ($175) per tael, according to Hai from VGB.

Source: VIR

Vietnamese minister says sorry for abusing official privilege

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Vietnam’s Industry and Trade Minister Tran Tuan Anh issued a public apology Tuesday for inappropriate use of his official car.
The apology came after the story of a car with blue license plates driving into the restricted aircraft parking area at the Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi to pick up the minister’s wife last Friday triggered a public backlash.

Many passengers on the Vietnam Airlines flight complained that they had to make way for the minister’s wife to get off the plane, while the car belonging to the ministry picked her up right on the tarmac.

In Vietnam, blue plates are only granted to cars used by government officials, and public vehicles are to be used only for government business. Under current regulations, ministers can be picked up right in the aircraft parking area, but their relatives are not entitled to this privilege.

Following local media reports and harsh reactions on social media, Anh admitted his mistakes and extended an apology to the people.

He asked for public sympathy, explaining that he was indisposed and hospitalized when the incident took place, hence his delayed response.

The incident was a “profound lesson” for himself, his family and the ministry as a whole, the minister wrote in a letter published by major media outlets. He pledged to take steps to ensure that no similar breaches happen in the future.

This is not the first time a Vietnamese government official has drawn attention and attracted public criticism for misuse of official cars for personal purposes, but it is uncommon that senior officials apologize to the public.

In 2016, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc issued a public apology after his motorcade drove down a pedestrian-only street in the well-preserved ancient town of Hoi An.

The social media is playing an increasingly prominent role in scrutinizing the behavior of public servants, with netizens quick to express their opinions, including their grievances.

More than half of people in the 95-million strong Vietnam are online and most of them are on Facebook.

Source: Vnexpress

Ho Chi Minh City retail sector ready for Tet holiday

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As the Lunar New Year holiday is approaching soon, Ho Chi Minh City authorities are working with relevant stakeholders to ensure retail operation and entertainment activities go on smoothly.

The national holiday, known as Tet in Vietnamese, falls on February 5 but preparation activities usually begin weeks in advance.

Retailers extend open time

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Industry and Trade has allowed local retailers, including supermarket and convenience store chains, to extend operation time during the Tet holiday.

During the period between the 20th and 26th day of the last month of the lunar year, or January 25 to January 31 in the Gregorian calendar, retail outlets in the southern metropolis will open from 8:00 am to 10:00 pm.

On February 1, 2 and 3, these locations will open from 7 in the morning until midnight.

Particularly, on the last day of the lunar year, or February 4, retail outlets will operate half a day, from 7:00 am to 12:00 pm.

Supermarkets will re-open for half a day on the second day of lunar new year (February 6). From the 6th day of the lunar new year (February 10) onwards, their operations will return to normal.

This year, Co-op Mart organizes home delivery service for customers within two to five hours after purchase. The leader retailer’s delivery unit is fully-equipped to keep merchandise in the best conditions.

Businesses in Ho Chi Minh City have stockpiled some VND18.4 trillion (US$427.22 million) worth of goods needed for Tet, with the entire supply chain required to pay special attention to product quality and food safety, according to deputy chairman of the municipal administration Tran Vinh Tuyen.

Early purchasing flower

Some 150 million cut flowers and more than 800,000 flower pots are expected to be consumed during Tet, as locals decorate their houses to observe the holiday, according to Nguyen Huynh Trang, deputy director of the municipal Department of Industry and Trade.

Trang said the sales volume is similar to that of the 2018 Tet.

“We hope that Ho Chi Minh city citizen afford to buy flowers sooner, so flower growers can come home before midnight to celebrate their own Tet,” Trang said.

“This also helps make clean-up work more convenient for sanitary workers.”

In previous years, the sanitary workers had to work hard to clean the streets to be able to return home on time due to the massive amount of waste left by flower markets.

Source: Tuoitrenews

V-Rock 2019 to hit Hanoi on January 12

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Music fans in Hanoi will be enthralled by some amazing performances by Vietnam’s leading rock bands at V-Rock 2019, which will take place at the Bach Khoa stadium in Hanoi on January 12.

The event, organised by VTC Digital Television under the Voice of Vietnam (VOV), aims to create a forum for professional rock music and the wider genre, as well as promoting the development of Vietnamese rock.

This year, V-Rock 2019 will feature six bands including Ngu Cung, Empty Spaces, WindRunner, Ca Hoi Hoang, and Buc Tuong, guitarist Tran Thanh Phuong, and former member of Black Infinity – drummer Cuong Nhoc.

The show has also drawn in the participation of well-known Japanese sound engineer Azuma Masaaki.

Previously, the Rockstorm concert left a deep impression on local rock enthusiasts with a number of amazing performances by well-known local and foreign bands including Buc Tuong (The Wall), Morning Waits (from Hanoi), PAK Band (from Ho Chi Minh City), Ban Nguyen (from Hanoi), Microwave, and Stevans from Switzerland.

RockStorm has presented live shows in Hanoi, Haiphong, Hue, Danang, Bien Hoa, Ho Chi Minh City, and Can Tho.

According to a report on Vietnamnet

Coach Park praises players, concedes mistakes after Iraq defeat

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Vietnam’s coach Park Hang-seo was disappointed with 2-3 loss against Iraq, but praised a “great job” by his players.


 “Although we lost the match, I think the players did a great job and showed their best. The players of Iraq have better skill and stamina, but Vietnam played well,” Park said in post-match interview.

Vietnam put on an impressive footballing display against a formidable opponent, taking the lead twice. But Iraq used their advantages of speed, physical strength and skills to equalize; and claimed victory from a free kick, with just three minutes left.

“It’s unfortunate that we let them score at such a sensitive time like that. A few players lost their concentration and led to that free kick. Our goalkeeper seemed to be standing in the wrong position. We need more practice for this kind of situation,” Park said.

Park’s hopes for four points in the group stage from Iraq and Yemen have been belied by this defeat and forced him to change his calculation.

“We need to get one point from Iran in the upcoming game. It’s clearly true that they are on another level, but we will study them carefully and let’s see what happens next,” he said.

Striker Nguyen Cong Phuong, who helped earn Vietnam’s an own goal and scored another, motivated his teammates after the game.

“It’s ok to lose the first game, because we still have two more ahead. The team will try their best,” Phuong said.

On the other side, Iraq head coach Srecko Katanec showed his respect for Vietnam after the game.

“Iraq respects Vietnam because they possess many skilled players and great fighting spirit. In Iraq, people think that Vietnam is an easy opponent and expect a 4 to 5-0 win. But I never think like them.

“After this game, I have even more respect for Vietnam. They have run and attacked tirelessly in the whole match,” Katanec said.

Vietnam will face the strongest team of group D, Iran, on January 12 in Al Nahyan Stadium, Abu Dhabi at 6 p.m. (Hanoi time).

According to a report on VnExpress

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