U23 Vietnam joins in the final game of AFF U23 Championship 2022
Victory with a score of 5-3 in the penalty shootout against U23 Timor Leste helped U23 Vietnam win the right to the final of the 2022 AFF U23 Championship.
U23 Vietnam is resilient
Looking at the list of registrations to compete between U23 Vietnam and U23 Timor Leste, Vietnamese fans deplored. Head coach Dinh The Nam’s team has only 2 substitute players. One of them is goalkeeper Tran Liem Dieu. Meanwhile on the other side of the front line, U23 Timor Leste had up to 12 players ready to enter the field when receiving the request of head coach Fabio Marciel.
However, during the first round, the boundary of the lack of strength between the two sides did not appear. U23 Vietnam entered the game excitedly and quickly raise the tempo to the Timor Leste’s side. U23 Vietnam actively implemented overlapping situations on the left wing. That’s where Trung Thanh and Nguyen Hoang often create pieces of coordination to penetrate the opponent’s armpit.
In the 6th minute, Dinh Hai skillfully managed to shoot from a distance, but the power of the ball was too light. In the 18th minute, Bao Toan caused the opponent’s goal to wobble. Unfortunately, the last shot sent the ball to the outside of the Timor Leste net. The most notable situation was in the 42nd minute. Dinh Hai played on the right wing. He stopped the ball, causing defender Timor Leste to miss the momentum. The player of U23 Vietnam made a very good cross for Trung Thanh to enter the penalty area. Unfortunately, Trung Thanh could not hit the ball with his head. At the end of the first half, U23 Vietnam threatened the goal of U23 Timor Leste. Nguyen Hoang and Trung Thanh had 2 consecutive shots in the goal but were blocked by the opponent’s defender.
Victory after the penalty shootout
Maintaining the spirit of excitement after a resilient first half against U23 Timor Leste, U23 Vietnam continued to create more opportunities on the opponent’s goal. In the 56th minute, Trung Thanh sped up on the left wing to catch Nguyen Hoang’s slit. He dribbled the ball one more touch and then hit the corner to make U23 goalkeeper Timor Leste no chance to stop. Unfortunately for Vietnam U23, Trung Thanh’s shot narrowly missed the post.
The regret multiplied in the 86th minute. From the free kick on the left, Nguyen Hoang dominated the space and headed high to send the ball a few millimeters off the opponent’s crossbar. Of course, U23 Timor Leste also has a reason to regret. Because in the 63rd minute, Paulo Gali escaped very quickly on the left wing. Fortunately for Vietnam U23, the striker’s finish did not beat goalkeeper Tuan Hung. Draw 0-0 after the official 90 minutes, U23 Vietnam and U23 Timor Leste had to enter extra time. The first significant opportunity belongs to the opponent. In the 96th minute, Paulo Gali Frietas went down to face Vietnam’s U23 goal. His sinking shot was unable to beat goalkeeper Tuan Hung.
The longer the match lasted, the more exhausted U23 Vietnam became. However, U23 Timor Leste could not take advantage of that opportunity to score in the remaining time of extra time. The competition between the two teams was forced to be resolved by a penalty shootout. In the “gunfight” series, U23 Vietnam had excellently performed all 5 of their kicks. While after 3 successful kicks, Jhon Oliveira was unable to beat goalkeeper Tuan Hung. Winning the final 5-3 after the penalty shootout, U23 Vietnam entered the final of AFF U23 Championship 2022 against U23 Thailand.
The final match between U23 Vietnam and U23 Thailand will take place on February 26.
Immediately after the match, the VFF Standing Committee praised the efforts of coach Dinh The Nam’s team and congratulated the team on winning tickets to the final. VFF Standing Committee awarded 600 million VND to encourage the whole team. In addition to the VFF prize, the U23 Vietnam team was also awarded 300 million VND by the Vietnam Young Talent Support Fund. Previously, in the group stage, the U23 Vietnam team was also awarded a total of 600 million VND by VFF. |