Van Thanh (number 17) celebrates after succeeding with the decisive penalty kick that seals Vietnam a resounding win over Qatar.

On its Twitter account, Doha-based beIN Sports hailed Vietnam U23’s victory as an incredible miracle. The penalty shootout thwarts all ambitions of Qatar U23, the Qatari media agency said, admitting Vietnam played with solid defence and effective counterattacks.

 Meanwhile, Qatar’s Gulf Times applauded Vietnam U23 as a giant-killer, which is proved by the team’s consecutive wins against strong opponents, Iraq and Qatar. The daily newspaper attributed Vietnam’s miracle to the nerves of steel, brave hearts and strong legs.

The Republic of Korea (RoK) media were also shocked by the extraordinary win of Park Hang-seo and his players.

On its website, the Dong-a Ilbo ran a big title "Is this Vietnamese football? This is a real”. The author of the article said that it was a shock and a "magic” that Vietnam entered the final of the AFC U23 Championship.

 Yonhap News hailed Vietnam’s victory against Qatar as a miracle, affirming that Park Hang-seo, recently called as "Guss Hiddink of Vietnam”, has written a new page for Vietnamese football.

The Thai version of the FourFourTwo football magazine published an article "Golden stars down Qatar in a historic AFC match”, stating that once again, golden-star warriors achieved a historic win in order to make the final of the AFC U23 Championship.