Jakarta: Vietnam came from behind twice to defeat Kuwait 5-4 in a fast-paced AFC Futsal Asian Cup Indonesia 2026™ Group B tie at the Jakarta International Velodrome on Tuesday.
The result places Diego Giustozzi’s side at the top of the group, ahead of Thailand on goal difference after the latter defeated Lebanon 2-0 in the earlier fixture.
Kuwait went on the offensive from the start, with Vietnam keeper Pham Van Tu making a point blank save to deny Abdullah Thamer in the second minute and skipper Saleh Alfadhel slicing his attempt from outside the area.
Pham again came to Vietnam’s rescue in the sixth minute when he turned away a stinging effort from Salman Albaeijan but the keeper failed to keep out Thamer’s rising shot a minute later after the midfielder capitalised on a defensive error.
Abdul Borashed increased their lead in the ninth minute when he latched on to a loose ball and rifled his shot from outside the area past a flailing Pham.
The Southeast Asian side narrowed the gap two minutes later when Chau Doan Phat robbed the ball from Alfadhel and poked his effort under custodian Fahad Alkhawari.
Vietnam drew level in the 16th minute through a scorcher from Nguyen Thinh Phat who, with his back facing the goalmouth, spun around and sent his shot into the top right corner.
Kuwait’s Omar, however, restored his side’s lead again with a well-struck shot from outside the area before Vietnam equalised seconds before half time through Nguyen Manh Dung.
Vietnam turned aggressors after the break, with Alkhawari pulling off saves from Vu Ngoc Anh and Nguyen Da Hai and then again from Vu before Duong Ngoc Linh rattled the post with his flicked-on shot.
They took the lead for the first time when Alkhawari failed to properly handle Tu Minh Quang’s shot and could only watch as the ball slipped from his grasp and rolled into the net.
Skipper Manh Dung then slotted in goal number five following a set-piece with AbdulAziz Alsarraj pulling one back two minutes before the end but time ran out for Kuwait as Vietnam took three hard-earned points.
Vietnam face Lebanon next while Kuwait meet Thailand, with both matches on Thursday.
