Won 2-1 over Malaysia, U22 Vietnam advance to the semi-final
U22 Vietnam beat Malaysia 2-1 in the men’s football at the ongoing SEA Games 32 in Cambodia on May 8, officially securing a slot in the semi-finals.
09/05/2023 10:38:33
The 0-2 defeat against U22 Thailand made U22 Malaysia understand that only a victory against U22 Vietnam would give them the advantage of winning tickets to the semi-finals. That’s why in the first minutes of the match, U22 Malaysia flooded the field of the red shirt team in the hope of getting a goal soon.
But the idea of U22 Malaysia didn’t work. Because they had to concede a goal early. In the 4th minute, “little Malayan tiger” was awarded a penalty after a defender let the ball touch his hand in the penalty area, after Minh Trong’s long shot. On the penalty mark, Van Tung finished unsuccessfully. But immediately, the No.9 forward hit the ball, making goalkeeper Izhan unable to save for U22 Malaysia.
With a goal, U22 Vietnam played more confidently. And in the 32nd minute, from a teammate’s cross, Minh Trong rose to the left to catch the ball. He made a mid-range cross to put the ball into the penalty area for Minh Tung to head the net and hit U22 Malaysia. Van Tung became the second player in Vietnamese history to score consecutively in the first three SEA Games matches. The rare person who did this before was senior Nguyen Cong Phuong in 2017.
U22 Vietnam started well. But in the 43rd minute, coach Philippe Troussier’s team suffered an unfortunate goal. From the free kick of the U22 Malaysian player, captain Quan Van Chuan caught the ball without sticking. Immediately, Mohammad Aliff hit a close shot to shorten the gap to 1-2.
At the end of the first half, U22 Malaysia almost got the equalizer after another dangerous stop from Mohammad Aliff. After the break, the yellow shirt team continued to push the squad high in the hope of shorting the gap. In the 52nd minute, they almost did this, if the kick down and hit the narrow corner of Najmudin Akmal did not come to the post.
Continuous pressure was created by U22 Malaysia after that. But right at the moment when they were in the most excited mood, the player of U22 Malaysia made a disastrous mistake. In the 79th minute, Mohammed Safwan – a new player who entered the field only 5 minutes earlier, was shown a red card for coldly beating Minh Trong. Four minutes later, another Malaysian U22 player was sent off. Najmudin Akmal received his second yellow card in the match for a foul on Thanh Nhan.
Only playing with 9 people on the field, U22 Malaysia, despite trying very hard to equalize, could not change the situation. Winning the final 2-1 against the opponent, U22 Vietnam soon won tickets to the semi-finals. Coach Philippe Troussier and his team will be present in the next round, same with U22 Thailand. The final match between the two teams will identìfy the first and second place in Group B.
