Vietnam enter semi finals of SEA football

Viet Nam defeated East Timor 4-0 at Bishan Stadium yesterday to temporally top the group with 12 points from four matches. — VNA/VNS Photo Quoc Khanh

Viet Nam defeated East Timor 4-0 at Bishan Stadium yesterday to temporally top the group with 12 points from four matches.

The first ticket went to Thailand, following their 5-0 win over Brunei on Saturday. Tran Phi Son opened the score just 10 minutes into the game.

The national striker received a right-wing pass from Captain Que Ngoc Hai and headed correctly to earn his second goal in the Games. Hai continued to create another chance that was converted into the second goal by Mac Hong Quan, just four minutes after the interval.

He scored the third by himself, with a goal that surprised everyone at the stadium. Hai decided to make a pass from the right into the box, where three teammates were ready to score. However, his mistaken pass went to hit the right pole of goalkeeper Maxanches Ramos Saozinho Ribeiro and entered the net.

Vo Huy Toan pocketed his second goal of the tournament at the 61st minute.

At the final round of the group on June 10, Viet Nam will play defending champions Thailand. The Vietnamese need only a draw to be the leading team.

Coach Toshyia Miura of Viet Nam said he has been satisfied with the result of the game and his players who scored 16 goals in total. It is better than the previous tournaments of U23 players, he noted. When asked about Thailand, the Japanese said they were the strongest team in Southeast Asia, so Viet Nam need a suitable plan. He and his assistants will have to discuss the tactics and players for that game. While leaving a post-match briefing, Miura said his target has been to enter the final.

Following an action in Group A yesterday, Myanmar are firmly in the driver’s seat, with their 5-1 thrashing of the Philippines that put them in the semifinals of the biennial meet. After three matches, Myanmar collected the maximum points (nine), and they now have only the final group game against Cambodia on 10 June.

Three teams – Indonesia, Cambodia, and Singapore – will vie for a berth in the semifinals.