AFC Champions League Elite PS: Adelaide United (AUS) 0-2 Cong An Ha Noi FC (VIE)

Alexandre Polking’s V League 1 champions kept Adelaide quiet throughout with goals from Henen and Koko sealing their place in the draw in Kuala Lumpur on August 18.

Visitors Ha Noi had the first sight at goal in the fifth minute, Koko turning away from his marker outside the box and unleashing a curling shot that had goalkeeper Joshua Smits scrambling across his goal but ultimately went just wide.

Adelaide responded with Juan Muniz’s free-kick in the 10th minute which cleared Ha Noi’s defensive wall and left Nguyen Filip rooted on the goal line as the Vietnamese custodian watched the ball fly wide of the post.

The home side continued to press but were limited to chances from distance with Ryan White’s dipping shot from 25 yards out sailing just over, the most notable chance Airton Andrioli’s side created in the opening half.

Ha Noi gained the advantage four minutes before the break, Koko sent a delicious ball behind Adelaide’s defence for Henen to chase and the Belgian forward beat Panagiotis Kikianis to it before slotting past Smits.

Adelaide went in search of the equaliser at the start of the second half with Filip needing to show good reflexes to drop low to his right to deny Ethan Alagich’s shot from outside the box.

The A-League side, however, in pushing players further up the field, left gaps at the back which Ha Noi exploited in the 64th minute.

Henen was left with acres of space to run onto on the right flank and without pressure from the opposition, had the time to look up and find Koko in the middle of the box to turn home and double Ha Noi’s lead.

Adelaide forced Ha Noi to camp in their own half for the remainder of the match but could do little against their defensively resolute opponents as they had to settle for a place in the AFC Champions League Two 2026/27™ group stage.