Dec 29 (Reuters) - Factbox on Vietnam ahead of the Asian Cup, which takes place in the United Arab Emirates from Jan 5 to Feb 1:

FIFA world ranking: 100

Ranking in Asia: 17

Previous Asian Cups: 1

Best performance: Quarter-finals (2007)

2015: Did not qualify

Nickname: Golden Dragons

Coach: Park Hang-seo

Regular captain: Que Ngoc Hai

Player to watch: Nguyen Quang Hai

Recent form:

Dec 2 Philippines 1-2 Vietnam Bacolod

Dec 6 Vietnam 2-1 Philippines Hanoi

Dec 11 Malaysia 2-2 Vietnam Kuala Lumpur

Dec 15 Vietnam 1-0 Malaysia Hanoi

Dec 25 Vietnam 1-1 North Korea Hanoi

Fixtures:

Group D

Jan 8 Iraq v Vietnam Abu Dhabi

Jan 12 Vietnam v Iran Abu Dhabi

Jan 16 Vietnam v Yemen Al Ain

South Korean Park has transformed expectations in Vietnam by taking the under-23 side to the final of the Asian Cup in January and the semi-finals of the Asian Games tournament in August.

The senior team capped that, and triggered more wild celebrations around the country, when they beat Malaysia over two legs to win the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Championship in December.

Having been drawn in a tough group, they will do well to match their single appearance in the quarter-finals as co-hosts in 2007 but some in Vietnam are starting to believe Park and his players can do anything.

(Compiled by Hardik Vyas in Bengaluru; Editing by John O'Brien)