Vietnam defeat Malaysia 2-0, advance to U23 Asian Cup quarterfinals

Before the game with Malaysia, Vietnam were under the must-win pressure as victory is the only way to keep their quarterfinals hope alive.

Although coach Gong Oh-kyun made five changes in the lineup, Vietnam still dominated in the first minutes.

Many chances were created and half an hour into the game, Vietnam found the opener with a powerful header from Nham Manh Dung. Before the first half ended, Vietnam got the second goal.

Dung Quang Nho dribbled past Hairiey Hakim, whose arm hit the ball. After five minutes of reviewing the play on VAR, the referee gave Vietnam a penalty and Hakim a red card.

On the penalty spot, captain Bui Hoang Viet Anh missed the first shot, but was able to get another tap-in and scored.

In the second half, Vietnam got more chances but couldn’t convert. The last 20 minutes saw the two teams slowing down as they were low on stamina.

The game ended with a 2-0 victory for Vietnam and put them into the quarterfinals of U23 Asian Cup.