After losing 0-1 to Jordan and ending in the top 8 of the Asian Cup, Tajikistan's dark horse "fairy tale" came to an abrupt end. The Central Asian side made their Asian Cup debut, beating China and Lebanon to finish second in their group, before knocking out West Asian giants the United Arab Emirates in the first round of the knockout round.
Tajikistan's success proves that the upset is an important part of the Asian Cup. However, this is not the "main course" of the tournament, after all, Tajikistan is only a few examples, and Asian football is still dominated by a few strong teams.
In the top 8, except for Tajikistan beating the United Arab Emirates, the other games were uneventful. Japan, South Korea, Australia, Iran, Qatar and Uzbekistan all made it.
Jordan's reversal of Iraq was a bit of a surprise, but the reality is that in West Asian football, apart from Iran and Saudi Arabia, teams such as the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Jordan and Syria are normal for whoever wins.
This shows that the map of Asian football has been relatively fixed for a long time. Although there are occasional surprises such as Tajikistan or Vietnam, they are basically short-lived.
Stronger teams such as Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, and even Qatar, the UAE, and Iraq will need time to establish themselves compared to the traditional powerhouses. The success of one or two events is only the first step.
In the quarter-finals, South Korea played a sub-par match against Australia, only to send the match into extra time thanks to Son Heung-min's flash (which won a penalty in stoppage time).
In extra time, South Korea continued to overpower Australia with the intensity of the early stages of the game.
In the end, South Korea's "national treasure" Son Heung-min took away the victory with a free kick. Although the Taiji Tiger is not very clever in tactics, it still maintains a high level of endurance and willpower until the last second.
What's more, South Korea have less rest than Australia, having just played Saudi Arabia for 120 minutes two days ago.
In the five matches of this Asian Cup, South Korea have won only one game in regulation time, beating Bahrain 3-1 in the first round of the group stage. Since then, Klinsmann's side have drawn with Jordan, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and Australia. What makes them better is fitness.
South Korea's opponent in the semifinals is Jordan. The latter have yet to experience extra-time, but the two-goal comeback over Iraq in three minutes of stoppage time showed that their physical and mental tolerance is outstanding.
Many of the key matches in this Asian Cup were decided by goals scored in the last 15 minutes. As the influence of technical and tactical factors becomes less and less, the key to victory or defeat is often the physical foundation. A team with better fitness can play with more patience and consistency and can decide the game at crucial moments.
Whether it's defending or attacking, possession or pressing, it takes good fitness. Without this, it would not have been possible to do well in the Asian Cup or the World Preliminary Tournament.
This is the weakness of this Vietnamese team at the moment. In the 12 games in Troussier's management, Vietnam scored just three goals in the final 15 minutes of the game, but conceded quite a few.
They can only run for sixty or seventy minutes. It's a result of the low level of the domestic league and the players are not used to the high intensity of the game," Troussier said.
This is the reality that Vietnamese football needs to face. The coach is to blame for their failure to improve their physical condition, but how many matches in the domestic league currently meet the intensity of the basic competition intensity in Asia? How many players in the league can compete with players from teams such as Japan and South Korea?
Coach Troussier could not lead the Vietnamese team to new heights on his own. The dream of a World Cup can only be realized if everyone works together.