Asian Qualifier: Vietnam vs Oman: 0-1

Khalid Al Hajri scored the only goal of the game as Oman defeated Vietnam 1-0 in Group B of the AFC Asian Qualifiers – Road to Qatar™ at the My Dinh Stadium on Thursday.

25/03/2022 10:44:32

Vietnam went into the game looking to avenge their 3-1 loss in the reverse fixture on Matchday Four and claim a second successive victory in Group B, having defeated China in Hanoi in early February.

Half-time substitute Nguyen Cong Phuong almost made the perfect entrance less than a minute after coming on when Nguyen Quang Hai’s lovely cross-field ball found Ho Tan Tai on the right and the wing-back’s pass was just inches away from the foot of the outstretched Cong Phuong in the middle.

The Vietnamese had another sight on goal 10 minutes later when Que Ngoc Hai’s goalbound effort following Cong Phuong’s corner from the left struck Al Saadi and then Nguyen Thanh Chung’s ensuing acrobatic attempt was tipped over by goalkeeper Ibrahim Al Mukhaini.

Oman then took the lead in the 65th minute when Al Yahyaei’s inch-perfect outswinging corner from the right was superbly headed home by Al Hajri from 12 yards out.

The Southeast Asians pushed for the equaliser and Quang Hai saw a free-kick from 25 yards tipped over by Al Mukhaini, before Al Saadi side-footed narrowly wide from just outside the area down the other end after being teed up by Abdullah Fawaz.

Ivankovic’s team sought to kill the tie off and Amjad Al Harthi’s low effort from the right side of the area was kept out by goalkeeper Tran Nguyen Manh inside the final 10 minutes but Oman held on for their third win in nine Group B matches to complete a double over Vietnam.