Vietnam grabbed Merdeka Cup 2008

U 22 Vietnam won Saturday the Merdeka Cup in Kuala Lumpur after defeating their Malaysian hosts in a penalty shoot-out.

It was the second time Vietnam has won the Malaysia’ Cup for 42 years when a team fromSouth Vietnam took the title in 1966.

Mai Tien Thanh became the hero for Vietnam after he finally scored 6 -5 in sudden-death penalty shoot-out. No goals have been scored after 120 minutes of the game. 

Vietnam stuns Malaysia to grab the Merdeka Cup. (Photo: Nguyen Hoang)

After the first 5 successful kicks of both sides, then Vietnam’s goalkeeper Tan Truong savedMalaysia’s sixth penalty kick, creating a clear opportunity for Mai Tien Thanh to endMalaysia’s reign as defending champions.

Although Malaysia dominated the proceedings, they failed to create clear cut chances in front of strong 25,000 fans.

Vietnam managed to hold their own with a defensive approach, using only two men upfront throughout the match.

Vietnam’s U22 team entered the final match after beating Sierra Leone in semi-finals Thursday also in a penalty shoot-out. Earlier, the team leaded Group B comprising of Myanmar,Bangladesh and Mozambique with two wins and one draw.

Malaysia won all matches in round matches against Nepal, Afghanistan and Sierra Leone and in semi-final match over Myanmar.