When writing these lines to readers of Lao Dong Newspaper, I just woke up - later than usual compared to the days the V.League took place, had breakfast, drank coffee and thought about the recent matches at the 2026 World Cup.
Surprise is always a part of football and more precisely, what creates the most sublime emotions of the king sport. The recent matches, the unpredictable results from newcomers, teams considered weak, have brought a truly special color to the 2026 World Cup. From a professional perspective, I think this surprise has grounds and limits.
Let's start with Qatar's draw against Switzerland. This surprise comes from both the result and the performance. First, Qatar was lucky to avoid conceding many goals, but they had patience and did not give up for 90 minutes. Even when they were behind, Qatar did not rush but waited for the opponent's mistake to then equalize at the last minute.
Or like Brazil's draw against Morocco. Clearly, in terms of expertise, there is nothing to argue about, a draw is an accurate result based on actual performance. However, Brazil just needs not to win to have something to discuss. Similarly, when Japan draws with the Netherlands, everything has its reasons.
I have to use the word "shock" when talking about Cabo Verde's draw against Spain. The Cabo Verde team is participating in the World Cup for the first time and in fact, their squad and players are not special. But this is a team with an incredible physical foundation. They bring an extremely interesting color to neutral fans. I see Spain attacking as if they hit a wall.
Vozinha - who is considered the same generation as me - just started the 2026 World Cup, I have retired a long time ago. Football is always special like that. There are a few other matches, such as DRC vs Portugal. The African representative played well, changed their state well, but they drew mostly thanks to a tough opponent, playing not at their full strength.
I want to give a different point of view, surprise always exists in football but has its limits. Look at how the DRC lost to Colombia in the second leg, Jordan has goals in every match - playing well but still losing. Just recently, Haiti led Morocco twice but lost back and finished the group stage with a score of 0 points.
The World Cup is a short-term tournament, held once every 4 years. The moment of brilliance of the stars becomes even more important. Big teams with long traditions carry the mindset of a champion, or at least go "hunting" for titles. Everyone has the will and national pride, so surprises only appear at a few times.
But it is such matches that motivate a team, each individual and even managers to set a dream, breaking all limits. I hope that one day Vietnam will participate in the World Cup with a dream step by step: Scoring goals, not conceding goals, getting points, winning, passing the group stage.
