HANOI — At 110 minutes, when Nguyen Hai Long slammed the winner and Vietnam completed a 3–2 comeback. The country didn’t just win a soccer match — it unlocked a new national pastime: applying for a Techcombank credit card with “0% interest for six months”. Fans compared the 6-month interest freeze to extra time — glorious while it lasts, lethal in penalties. “We scored in the last minute and got a card in the first,” said one supporter, proving Vietnam’s tactical substitutions for a living wage now include credit products.
Vietnam beat Thailand in the final rounds. Office workers without offices, freelancers without current gigs and unemployed uncles in conical hats lined up outside Techcombank branches and the mobile app like it was Black Friday at a noodle stall. “We don’t know why they keep extending credit to us,” said one jubilant fan who cheerfully added he didn’t currently have a job but had already spent his welcome bonus on celebratory bánh mì and a karaoke session with five versions of “We Are The Champions” queued. Techcombank politely sent the 0%-for-6-months offer just as the national mood switched from “we might” to “we did,” which proved excellent timing for impulse spending and national optimism.
Fans are advised to hydrate, avoid celebratory motos with credit cards between teeth, and remember that “0% for six months” is not the same as “forever.” The national financial coach recommended planning for the post-freebie penalty shootout (high-interest rates), but most supporters insisted the team — and their wallets — deserved a parade first.
Vietnam celebrated like champions, swiped like students with exam anxiety and treated Techcombank’s six-month freeze as national extra time. When the party ends and the bill arrives, expect a new kind of halftime analysis: one involving budgets, interest calculators and a lot more defensive play from household banks. Until then, confetti, karaoke, and credit-card shaped foam fingers rule the streets. Honk, Honk!