Vietnam exit from Asian Cup after sharing the point with Lebanon
By Vu Duc - The Saigon Times Daily
HCMC – Vietnam ended their hopes at the Asian Cup 2011 after drawing 1-1 with Lebanon in the second leg of the qualifying round at Lebanon’s Saida Municipal Stadium on Wednesday, though the home team is seen as the underdog opponents in Group D.
Vietnam needed a win in their penultimate game in the group to keep alive their hope to qualify for the finals of the tournament. Coach Henrique Calisto had said before the game that he believed their players would beat Lebanon 
in away game before the final game against with China at My Dinh Stadium on January 17.
The home side faced some disadvantage when they had to play the game behind closed doors. The Asian Football Confederation discipline commission fined them a match ban relating to the violent attitude of their supporters in the third match against China in the qualifying round. The West Asian side lost 0-2 to China in the game.
Meanwhile, the Vietnamese side began the game without key players in their lineup including goalkeeper Duong Hong Son, Tai Em, Viet Cuong, Quang Thanh and striker Le Cong Vinh, who just came back from Portugal’s Leixoes in the Liga Sagres.
The two sides started the game quickly. Vietnam were more confident after defeating Lebanon 3-1 in the first leg at their home ground while the home side, with height advantage, began with long passes from the two wings and relied on rare counter attacks from the start of the game.
The Vietnamese side dominated the ball possession in the first minutes. However, the home side took a surprise lead when midfielder Mahmoud El Ali opened the score in the 19th minute after receiving the ball from his teammate in the penalty area.
Striker Hassan Maatouk came close in the 30th minute and failed to connect on the dangerous cross that hit the Vietnam goal’s post. Then midfielder Thanh Luong leveled for the Vietnamese side in the 40th minute.
After the break, the Vietnamese side dominated the game and created more opportunities but their players missed all chances for scoring. Lebanon put more pressure toward the Vietnamese defensive line but their strikers also failed to score.
Despite good ball possession in the last minutes, Vietnamese forwarders could not find the net, leaving the score unchanged at 1-1 until the final whistle.
In another game in Group D, powerhouse China tied goalless with Syria at their home ground in the second leg. China were surprisingly defeated by Syria 3-2 in the first leg in Syria.
Despite the draw, China went through to the finals as the group runners-up, just one point behind leaders Syria, who has already qualified for the finals with 11 points. Third-placed Vietnam, which exited from the Asian Cup, have five points from five games and bottom-placed Lebanon have only one point.
In another game on Wednesday, Iran beat Singapore 3-1 and the game between Thailand and Jordan ended goalless. Iran secured the top spot of Group E with 10 points from five games, Thailand and Singapore collected six points each and Jordan pocketed five points.
Vietnam are in group D, with China, Syria and Lebanon in the Asian Cup 2011 qualifying round. In Group A, Japan will clash with Bahrain, Hong Kong and Yemen. In group B, Australia will play Indonesia, Oman and Kuwait.
Meanwhile, Uzbekistan will take on the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia and India in Group C, while Iran, Thailand, Jordan and Singapore will battle it out in Group E.
The top two teams in the group will qualify for the finals in Qatar in 2011.
Vietnam qualified for the quarter-finals in the Asian Cup 2007, when the country co-hosted the Asian Cup 2007 with Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.