Defeat U23 Malaysia in the semi-final, U23 Vietnam faced U23 Thailand in the final
Tien Linh’s only goal in the 111th minute helped U23 Vietnam overcome U23 Malaysia in the semi-final match of men’s football at the 31st SEA Games, thereby entering the final with U23 Thailand.
20/05/2022 10:38:17
After the opening whistle, Malaysia actively pressed high, making it impossible for Vietnam to attack. Vietnam, with the fast and technical players, tried to get rid of the fierce tactics of opponent, but the efforts, determination and persistence of Malaysia made it difficult for Mr. Park’s team. Malaysia tried to block the key on the Vietnamese side such as Hoang Duc, Van Xuan, Van Do, Hung Dung, making Tien Linh quite lonely in the defense area of Malaysia team.
It wasn’t until the 27th minute that Vietnam had the first chance when Tien Linh shot the ball wide of the Malaysian goal. In the 42nd minute, U23 Vietnam missed an unfortunate opportunity, when it was Tien Linh who shot the ball, causing the Malaysian goalkeeper to push it out, and Manh Dung could not successfully compensate. The first half ended with a 0-0 draw.
In the second half, Vietnam continued to dominate the ball compared to Malaysia. Malaysia team has built a multi-layered defense that makes it difficult for Vietnam to attack on the flanks or in the middle. When the home team was dominating, U23 Vietnam suffered a loss when Van Xuan had to leave the field in the 74th minute after a collision with an opponent player.
Losing an important player, Vietnam was really stuck in front of the opponent. This explains why the second half also ended without a goal. Therefore, the two sides dragged each other to extra time.
At the time of the first extra time, Malaysia showed that they probably did not have the best physical preparation when they could no longer fiercely follow the Vietnamese players. Meanwhile, U23 Vietnam and especially captain Hung Dung still proved their bravery and excellent physical condition in every situation of dispute, dribbling and finishing.
But also had to wait until the 111th minute, the crowd at Viet Tri Stadium broke out in joy of victory when Hung Dung kicked the exact free kick for Tien Linh to jump high and hit Malaysia’s net.
Winning the match 1-0, U23 Vietnam reached the final against Thailand U23 in the gold medal match and U23 Malaysia will play against Indonesia to compete for bronze. Both of these matches will take place on May 22.
| After the match, on behalf of the VFF Standing Committee, Acting President Tran Quoc Tuan congratulated the achievements as well as praised the competitive spirit of the U23 team in the semi-finals, and wished the team good health and continued training for the finals. With the achievement of reaching the 31st SEA Games men’s football final, meeting the Thai U23 team, the Vietnam Football Federation awarded 1 billion VND to the U23 Vietnam team. |
Match schedule for the bronze medal and gold medal in men’s football at the 31st SEA Games:
May 22, 2022
My Dinh National Stadium
Bronze Medal Painting
16h00, U23 Malaysia vs. U23 Indonesia
Gold Medal Painting
19h00, U23 Vietnam vs. Thailand U23
