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 1948 to 1975. The team started to play under the State of Vietnam in January 1949, few months after France recognized its 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. It was one of strongest teams in Southeast Asia.
The South Vietnam team played their last games at 1976 AFC Asian Cup qualification in 1975 March, and ceased to exist after the Fall of Saigon on April 30, 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.
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.
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
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