Vietnam drop to bottom after defeat in Saudi Arabia

Vietnam dropped to bottom of Group C after a 2-0 defeat to their hosts Saudi Arabia in Dammam on October 17 (local time).

Substitute Yousef Mansour Al Salem came off the bench to score two goals in the second half, helping the hosts restore their hopes of a place in Beijing as in another match, Group C leaders Japan lost to Qatar.

Al Salem opened the scoring 19 minutes into the second half and doubled the lead in stoppage time with a spot kick.

Vietnam travelled to Dammam without three key players, skipper Nguyen Vu Phong and Le Cong Vinh, who were rested by coach Alfred Riedl for the forthcoming 24th SEA Games, alongside sidelined centreback Nguyen Thanh Long Giang.

It, therefore, was no surprise as the Saudis, with their physical superiority dominated the game from kick-off.

The came close to going in front after five minutes with Abdullah Juman Shuhail”s header after Saleh Abdullah”s freekick was tipped away by goalie Tran Duc Cuong.   

And with the game deep into injury time, Al Salem doubled his side’s advantage with a well taken penalty that gave Vietnam goalkeeper Tran Duc Cuong little chance.

Duc Cuong was forced in to action again five minutes later to steer Abdullah’s attempt away.

Saudi Arabia completely dominated the game and looked the more likely to score. A mix-up between Duc Cuong and leftback Vo Nhat Tan almost gifted Naif Ahmed Hazazi to score but his attempt was deflected wide.

On 31 minutes, Duc Cuong made a top class save, reacting quickly enough to push away Abdullah Nour’s volley after Abdullah’s pass had caught the Vietnamese defence square.

The hosts started slowly after the break but four minutes after the hour mark, they took the lead. Abdullah outpaced the Vietnam defence before sending over a low cross from the right edge of the Vietnam box for Al Salem to slot home from close range.

Al Salem should have doubled his side’s advantage 13 minutes later when he played himself in on Duc Cuong’s goal, only to finish wide of the Vietnamese goalkeeper’s left upright.

With the game deep into injury time, Al Salem made no mistake when his side was awarded a spot kick to give the Saudis” hope of qualifying for the Beijing Games back.

In another match, Qatar beat Japan 2-1 to surpass their opponents on top of Group C, with seven points after four games.

Vietnam are at bottom with two points earned from their home games against Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

Nhan dan