South Vietnam national football team

Men's senior national football team of South Vietnam

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State of Vietnam
Republic of Vietnam1949–1975

Nickname(s)| Rồng vàng
(Golden Dragon)
Association| Vietnam Football Association
Confederation| AFC (Asia)
Top scorer| Lê Hữu Đức (9)
Home stadium| Cộng Hòa Stadium
FIFA code| VSO[1]

First colours

Second colours

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First international
Vietnam 3–3 South Korea
(Saigon, French Cochinchina; 16 January 1949)[2][3]
Last international
Malaysia 3–0 South Vietnam
(Bangkok, Thailand; 23 March 1975)
Biggest win
South Vietnam 10–0 Philippines
(Tokyo, Japan; 1 October 1967)
Biggest defeat
South Vietnam 1–9 Indonesia
(Seoul, South Korea; 4 May 1971)
AFC Asian Cup
Appearances| 2 (first in 1956)
Best result| Fourth place, 1956, 1960

The Republic of Vietnam national football team (Vietnamese: Đội tuyển bóng đá quốc gia Việt Nam Cộng hòa) or the State of Vietnam national football team (Vietnamese: Đội tuyển bóng đá Quốc gia Việt Nam) was the national football team from 1949 to 1975 representing the State of Vietnam and later the Republic of Vietnam, known as "South Vietnam".

The State of Vietnam joined the International Association Football Federation (FIFA) in 1952 and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in 1954. The South Vietnamese football association was treated by these bodies as the only legitimate Vietnamese association, as the State of Vietnam and later the Republic of Vietnam claimed sovereignty over all of Vietnam from 1949 to 1975. The team started to play under the State of Vietnam in January 1949, two months before France recognized Vietnamese nominal independence. After the State of Vietnam gained complete independence from France in June 1954 and Vietnam was divided in July, it existed side by side with a separate North Vietnam team, which represented the Communist-controlled northern portion of the country from 1956 to 1976. Unlike its southern counterpart, the latter was never allowed to join FIFA or the AFC. South Vietnam took part in the first two Asian Cups finals (1956 and 1960), finishing last both times. Despite the fierce wars, it was one of strongest teams in Southeast Asia.

The South Vietnam team played their last games at 1976 AFC Asian Cup qualification in March 1975, and ceased to exist after the Fall of Saigon in April, when the Vietnam War ended. The North and South regions combined into the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in 1976, with the Vietnam national team replacing both the North and South teams. The unified republic was allowed to keep South Vietnam's membership of FIFA and the AFC, resulting in the South Vietnam team's historical record usually being counted as part of the overall record of the Vietnam national team, while results for the North Vietnam team are not commonly included as part of the record.

## Tournament record

[edit]

### FIFA World Cup

[edit]

FIFA World Cup record  |  | Qualification record

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Year  | Result  | Pos. | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA
1950 | Not a FIFA member | Not a FIFA member
1954 | Entry not accepted by FIFA | Entry not accepted by FIFA
1958 to 1970 | Did not enter | Did not enter
1974 | Did not qualify | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5
Total | — | — | – | – | – | – | – | – | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5

#### 1974 FIFA World Cup qualification

[edit]

The only World Cup qualification campaign which South Vietnam entered was the for the 1974 World Cup. They were placed in Zone A of the AFC and OFC qualification in Seoul, South Korea. On 16 May 1973 they beat Thailand 1–0 to qualify for Group 1. On 20 May, South Vietnam lost their opening game 0–4 to Japan and four days later they lost 1–0 to Hong Kong and were eliminated. Hong Kong and Japan advanced but neither got any further, losing play-offs for the next round to South Korea and Israel respectively.

Pos | Team

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| Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification  |  |  |  |

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1  |  Hong Kong | 2  | 2  | 0  | 0  | 2  | 0  | +2  | 4  | Advance to Zonal semi-finals |  | -- | 1–0 | 1–0
2  |  Japan | 2  | 1  | 0  | 1  | 4  | 1  | +3  | 2  |  | —  | -- | 4–0
3  |  South Vietnam | 2  | 0  | 0  | 2  | 0  | 5  | −5  | 0  |  |  | —  | —  | --

Source: [citation needed]
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

### Asian Cup

[edit]

AFC Asian Cup record  |  | Qualification record

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Year  | Result  | Pos. | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Squad  | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA
1956 | Fourth place | 4th | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 9 | Squad | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 3
1960 | Fourth place | 4th | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 12 | Squad | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1
1964 | Did not qualify | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 7
1968 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4
1972 | Withdrew | Withdrew
1976 | Did not qualify | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 10
Total | Fourth place | 4th | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 21 | – | 15 | 7 | 1 | 7 | 26 | 25
Asian Cup Finals Results

Year | Score | Result
1956 |  South Vietnam 2–2 Hong Kong | Draw
South Vietnam 1–2 Israel | Loss
South Vietnam 3–5 South Korea | Loss
1960 |  South Vietnam 1–5 South Korea | Loss
South Vietnam 0–2 Republic of China | Loss
South Vietnam 1–5 Israel | Loss
AFC Asian Cup record

First match  |  South Vietnam 2–2 Hong Kong
(9 September 1956; Causeway Bay, Hong Kong)
Last match  |  South Vietnam 1–5 Israel
(14 October 1960; Seoul, South Korea)
Biggest win  | None
Biggest defeat  |  South Vietnam 1–5 Israel
(14 October 1960; Seoul, South Korea)
South Korea 5–1 South Vietnam
(19 October 1960; Seoul, South Korea)
Best result  | Fourth place in 1956 and 1960
Worst result  | None

### Olympic Games

[edit]

Olympic Games record

Year  | Result  | Pos. | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA
1952 | Did not enter
1956 | Qualified, but withdrew
1960 | Did not enter
1964 | Did not qualify
1968
1972 | Did not enter
Total | 0/16 | – | – | – | – | – | – | –

### Asian Games

[edit]

| Asian Games

Year | Round | GP | W | D | L | GF | GA
1951 | Did not enter
1954 | Preliminary round | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 5
1958 | Quarter-finals | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 5
1962 | Fourth place | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 8
1966 | Preliminary round | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6
1970 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3
1974 | Did not enter
Total | Fourth Place | 15 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 27 | 27

| Asian Games History

Year | Round | Score | Result
1954 | Round 1 |  Vietnam 2-3 Republic of China | Loss
Round 1 |  Vietnam 3-2 Philippines | Win
1958 | Round 1 |  South Vietnam 1-1 Pakistan | Draw
Round 1 |  South Vietnam 6-1 Malaya | Win
Quarter-finals |  South Vietnam 1-3 South Korea | Loss
1962 | Round 1 |  South Vietnam 0-1 Indonesia | Loss
Round 1 |  South Vietnam 6-0 Philippines | Win
Round 1 |  South Vietnam 3-0 Malaya | Win
Semi-finals |  South Vietnam 2-3 India | Loss
Bronze medal |  South Vietnam 1-4 Malaya | Loss
1966 | Round 1 |  South Vietnam 2-1 Republic of China | Win
Round 1 |  South Vietnam 0-0 Indonesia | Draw
Round 1 |  South Vietnam 0-5 Singapore | Loss
1970 | Round 1 |  South Vietnam 0-2 India | Loss
Round 1 |  South Vietnam 0-1 Thailand | Loss

### Southeast Asian Games

[edit]

The South Vietnam team winning gold at the 1959 Southeast Asian Peninsular Games in Bangkok, Thailand Southeast Asian Games record

Year  | Result  | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA
1959 | Champions | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 3
1961 | Third place | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 2
1965 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 5
1967 | Runners-up | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 2
1969 | Group stage | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2
1971 | Third place | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 4
1973 | Runners-up | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 7
Total  | 1 title  | 24  | 10  | 5  | 9  | 53  | 25

* 1971: Pesta Sukan Cup (join-winners with India)[4]

## Match results

[edit]

Further information: South Vietnam national football team results

## Head-to-head record

[edit]

Key

Positive balance

Neutral balance

Negative balance

The list shown below shows the South Vietnam national football team all-time international record against opposing nations.

Against  | Played  | Won  | Drawn  | Lost  | GF  | GA  | GD

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Australia | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | –2
Burma | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0
Myanmar | 14 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 25 | –12
Cambodia | 13 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 14 | 0
Hong Kong | 10 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 16 | 12 | 4
India | 11 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 8 | 17 | –9
Indonesia | 15 | 5 | 1 | 9 | 25 | 36 | –11
Israel | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 8 | –4
Japan | 9 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 13 | 15 | –2
Kuwait | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | –1
Laos | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 1 | 23
Lebanon | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0
Malaya | 11 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 16 | 29 | –1
Malaysia | 20 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 30 | 42 | –1
New Zealand | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 4
Pakistan | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0
Philippines | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 2 | 23
Singapore | 19 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 48 | 26 | 22
South Korea | 18 | 1 | 6 | 11 | 18 | 44 | –26
Taiwan | 10 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 18 | 15 | 3
Thailand | 18 | 11 | 3 | 4 | 30 | 21 | 9

## Honours

[edit]

### Regional

[edit]

* Southeast Asian Games
* Gold medal (1): 1959
* Silver medal (4): 1967, 1973
* Bronze medal (4): 1961, 1965, 1971

### Friendly

[edit]

* South Vietnam Independence Cup
* Champions (6): 1961, 1962, 1965, 1966, 1970, 1974
* Runners-up (2): 1971, 1972
* Merdeka Tournament
* Champions (1): 1966
* King's Cup
* Third place (2): 1969, 1971
* Pesta Sukan Cup
* Champions (1): 1971
* Thai Army Cup
* Champions (1): 1974

## See also

[edit]

* Football in Vietnam

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Jeffree, Iain. "FIFA Country Codes". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
2. ^ "South Vietnam - List of International Matches". RSSSF.
3. ^ "South Korea international games 1949".
4. ^ Chaudhuri, Arunava (2000). "The Indian Senior Team at the 1971 Singapore Pesta Sukan Cup". indianfootball.de. Archived from the original on 19 August 2016. Retrieved 1 October 2021.

* v
* t
* e

Vietnam national football team

General|

* Vietnam Football Federation
* History
* North
* South
* Managers

Venues|

* National stadiums
* Mỹ Đình National Stadium
* Hàng Đẫy Stadium
* Thống Nhất Stadium

Statistics|

* All-time record
* 1949–1975
* 1991–2009
* 2010–2019
* 2020–present
* Unofficial games
* AFC Asian Cup record
* ASEAN Championship record
* Head-to-head record

Players|

* Squad
* Born outside Vietnam
* Most capped players
* Top goalscorers
* Youngest players

AFC Asian Cup Finals|

* 1956
* 1960
* 2007
* 2019
* 2023

ASEAN Championship Finals|

* 1996
* 1998
* 2000
* 2002
* 2004
* 2007
* 2008
* 2010
* 2012
* 2014
* 2016
* 2018
* 2020
* 2022
* 2024

Goals|

* Lê Công Vinh

Friendly tournaments|

* Ho Chi Minh City Cup
* VTV-T&T Cup
* VFF Cup
* International Thanh Niên Newspaper Cup
* BTV Cup

Other competitions|

* AFF–EAFF Champions Trophy
* Olympic Games
* Asian Games
* SEA Games

Rivalries|

* Indonesia
* Malaysia
* Singapore
* Thailand

Awards|

* Honours and titles
* Player of the Year
* V.League Awards

Matches|

* Vietnam 2–0 United Arab Emirates (2007)
* Philippines 2–0 Vietnam (2010)
* 2018 AFF Championship final
* 2022 AFF Championship final
* 2024 ASEAN Championship final

Other teams|

* U-23 (Olympic)
* U-20
* U-17
* Women's team
* U-20
* U-17
* Futsal
* U-20
* Women's futsal
* Beach soccer
* Former teams
* North Vietnam
* South Vietnam

Culture|

* Street storming

* v
* t
* e

Southeast Asian Games football men's tournament winners

* 1959: South Vietnam1
* 1961: Malaya1
* 1965: Burma /  Thailand
* 1967: Burma
* 1969: Burma
* 1971: Burma
* 1973: Burma
* 1975: Thailand
* 1977: Malaysia
* 1979: Malaysia
* 1981: Thailand
* 1983: Thailand
* 1985: Thailand
* 1987: Indonesia
* 1989: Malaysia
* 1991: Indonesia
* 1993: Thailand
* 1995: Thailand
* 1997: Thailand
* 1999: Thailand
* 2001: Thailand
* 2003: Thailand
* 2005: Thailand
* 2007: Thailand
* 2009: Malaysia
* 2011: Malaysia
* 2013: Thailand
* 2015: Thailand
* 2017: Thailand
* 2019: Vietnam
* 2021: Vietnam
* 2023: Indonesia

1 Results of Malaya and South Vietnam is counted as part of the results of present-day Malaysia and Vietnam.

* v
* t
* e

Defunct and altered national football teams

Recognised as defunct by FIFA|

* East Germany
* Saarland
* South Yemen

Teams whose names and borders
both differ from the present|

* CIS
* Curaçao
* Czechoslovakia
* Ireland (IFA)
* Malaya
* Mandatory Palestine
* Netherlands Antilles
* Russian Empire
* South Vietnam
* Unified Korea (U20)
* Soviet Union
* Yugoslavia
* Serbia and Montenegro

Defunct but unrecognised by FIFA|

* Manchukuo
* North Vietnam

For teams that have undergone name changes but no border alterations see here
For teams that have undergone border changes but no name alterations see here

* v
* t
* e

National men's football teams of Asia (AFC)

AFC Asian Cup

West Asia (WAFF)|

* Bahrain
* Iraq
* Jordan
* Kuwait
* Lebanon
* Oman
* Palestine
* Qatar
* Saudi Arabia
* Syria
* United Arab Emirates
* Yemen

Central Asia (CAFA)|

* Afghanistan
* Iran
* Kyrgyzstan
* Tajikistan
* Turkmenistan
* Uzbekistan

South Asia (SAFF)|

* Bangladesh
* Bhutan
* India
* Maldives
* Nepal
* Pakistan
* Sri Lanka

East Asia (EAFF)|

* China
* Chinese Taipei1
* Guam
* Hong Kong
* Japan
* Macau
* Mongolia
* North Korea
* Northern Mariana Islands2
* South Korea

Southeast Asia (AFF)|

* Australia
* Brunei
* Cambodia
* East Timor
* Indonesia
* Laos
* Malaysia
* Myanmar
* Philippines
* Singapore
* Thailand
* Vietnam

Defunct|

* Malaya
* Manchukuo
* North Vietnam
* South Vietnam
* South Yemen

Former|

* Israel (moved to UEFA in 1994)
* Kazakhstan (moved to UEFA in 2002)
* New Zealand (formed the OFC in 1966)

* 1 Taiwan, officially the Republic of China, competes as "Chinese Taipei"
* 2 Not a member of FIFA

*[Pos.]: Position
*[Pld]: Games Played
*[W]: Won
*[D]: Drawn
*[L]: Lost
*[GF]: Goals for
*[GA]: Goals against
*[Pos]: Position
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[GD]: Goal difference
*[Pts]: Points