Vietnam enter U19 AFF Cup semifinals

A win or a draw against Thailand would send Vietnam to the semifinals as the top team of group A while a loss would eliminate them. The same applied to Thailand in this game.

The best chance for Vietnam in the first half came from Nguyen Quoc Viet. The young forward broke the offside trap and faced the keeper in the 25th minute but his shot hit the keeper and went out.

The game was filled with heated moments when players on both teams provoked, pushed and shoved each other at least two times. However, referee Xaypasert Phongsanit went easy and didn’t give out any red card.

Although Vietnam created more chances, they couldn’t score and pay the price when in the 72nd minute, Kroekphon Arbram headed the ball into the net for Thailand. He took off his shirt to celebrate and received a yellow.

But only four minutes later, Vietnam found the equalizer when left-back Nguyen Bao Long’s shot found Khuat Van Khang, who had a composed execution with a curling shot to defeat Thailand keeper.

After the equalizer, both teams didn’t want to score more and instead, played slower due to low stamina.

The 1-1 draw was enough to send both Vietnam and Thailand to the semifinals. On the stand, Indonesia supporters were not happy with the game. Despite winning 5-1 against Myanmar, Indonesia still got eliminated. They had 11 points just like Vietnam and Thailand, but failed to score against both teams, while Vietnam and Thailand had scored against each other in this game.

This is the first time that Vietnam made it past the group stage of U19 AFF Cup since 2016. The only time they won the title was in 2007.

 

 

Vietnam enter U19 AFF Cup semifinals

U19 Việt Nam 1-1 U19 Indonesia