With a narrow victory over U23 Laos, Vietnam has a wide open door to the semi-finals.

(Baonghean.vn) -Only winning 1-0 against U23 Laos but that was enough to help our players gain maximum points after 3 consecutive wins to temporarily climb to the top of Group B.

With 2 resounding victories with big scores (6-0, 5-1) in favor of the Vietnamese team against their opponents Brunei and Malaysia. In the 3rd match of Group B of the 28th SEA Games men's football taking place on the evening of June 4, fans are waiting for an easy win for the Vietnamese players against U23 Laos.

Because they only had to face an opponent that was considered weaker, Coach Miura made some changes in the starting lineup compared to the victory over Malaysia (5-1). Names such as Manh Hung, Van Toan, Ngoc Thinh, Huy Hung, Thanh Binh, Phi Son, Duc Huy were on the field from the start. Cong Phuong was arranged to play right behind the two strikers Thanh Binh and Van Toan, he played the role of an organizing midfielder, passing the ball to the two strikers. Playing on the wings were the two midfielders Phi Son and Duc Huy.

Although playing with a 5-player lineup with an attacking tendency, Miura's students did not show much throughout the first half. The proof was that they did not create any truly dangerous opportunities towards the goal of the Lao players. The key problem that made the attack not very effective was that in the first half, U23 Vietnam used too many long passes, crossing from the two wings, without providing much of the ball to "conductor" Cong Phuong, so that this player could hold the ball, and make passes that created breakthroughs. Also in the first half, the Vietnamese attack played very disjointedly, not showing the same coordination as in the past matches. Although in the first half, the ball almost only rolled on the U23 Laos field, the most notable opportunity was Duc Huy's long pass to Van Toan, but this player could not control the ball successfully.

Thanh Hien scored the only goal to help Vietnam win the final match (photo VNE)

On the other side, the Lao players chose a very suitable style of play, defending densely and waiting for the opportunity to counterattack. The Lao players played very disciplined, pressing the Vietnamese players very fiercely and successfully blocking the most noticed players on the Vietnamese side such as Cong Phuong, Phi Son, Van Toan...

In the second half, with the introduction of Mac Hong Quan to replace Thanh Binh, the U23 Vietnam attack line was somewhat better. The ball was continuously passed from both wings to this player's position, creating clearer opportunities to score. Also in this second half, the ball continued to be under the control of the Vietnamese team. Cong Phuong had more of the ball in the first half, this player dribbled the ball many times, causing the Lao defense to lose direction. In the 66th minute, from Cong Phuong's attempt to dribble the ball was blocked by a Lao player and hit Thanh Hien's foot, this defender had a beautiful right-footed curl to open the score for the Vietnamese team.

Video clip of notable moments in the match:

Cong Phuong skillfully dribbled past the Lao players, creating a breakthrough for the Vietnamese players (photo Bongdaplus)

After scoring the first goal, the U23 Vietnam players were able to relieve their nerves and continuously create opportunities towards the Lao team's goal. The attacking positions of the U23 Vietnam team were always flexibly switched. Phi Son was able to play in the center forward position, Mac Hong Quan played lower. In the 68th minute, from Mac Hong Quan's pass, Phi Son skillfully handled the ball in the penalty area, completely eliminating the U23 Laos team's defense, but unfortunately, this player's shot hit the outside of his foot and flew over the crossbar.

Although they were behind, the U23 Laos players could not advance the ball to the U23 Vietnam players' side of the field. U23 Laos had to accept the final score of 0-1. This score accurately reflected what the two teams had shown and with this result, the U23 Laos players must have felt satisfied because the Vietnamese team was too strong for them.

With a narrow 1-0 victory over U23 Laos, U23 Vietnam returned to the top of the table. The road to the semi-finals is now wide open for coach Miura and his team.

In the remaining two matches against U23 Timor Leste and Thailand, U23 Vietnam only needs to gain one more point against U23 Timor Leste on June 7 to secure a ticket to the semi-finals.

Group B men's football SEA Games 28

Duc Anh