Vietnam team off to a smooth start at ASEAN Cup 2024

An interesting detail is that in the last 3 tournaments, Vietnam met Laos on the opening day and won by a large margin. These victories also opened a fairly smooth journey for Vietnam.

However, to win on the opening day, coach Kim Sang-sik and his team must forget the unsuccessful matches in the past and enter the field with the most excited spirit. This is something the Vietnamese team can completely do when facing a weak opponent like Laos. Coach Kim Sang-sik's students are even capable of winning big in the confrontation on Laos' land.

Because they were facing a weaker team, the Vietnamese coaching staff did not field the strongest lineup. Among them, Van Khang, Tien Anh, Hai Long, and Vi Hao were all in the starting lineup.

However, with their superior level, the Vietnamese team still took the initiative when the ball rolled at the Laos National Stadium. Coach Kim Sang-sik's team created many scoring opportunities in front of the Lao team's goal. However, during the first half, the Vietnamese team had difficulty finding the opening goal. Coach Kim Sang-sik's team's playing style was not really coherent. Meanwhile, the Lao team played extremely confidently, not defending and being ready to create quality counterattacks.

In the first 45 minutes of the match, the Vietnamese team had many opportunities but could not take full advantage to score. The most notable situation was Bui Vi Hao's header in the 4th minute. However, the 2003-born striker's shot was not dangerous enough to defeat the Lao goalkeeper.

In the second half, coach Kim Sang-sik made many substitutions and brought about results. In the 58th minute, center-back Bui Tien Dung made a pass over the line for Hai Long to run up and unleash a powerful volley from a tight angle, breaking the deadlock for the Vietnamese team.
Just 5 minutes after the opening goal, Nguyen Tien Linh took advantage of a mistake from a Lao player to double the gap to 2-0 for the Vietnamese team with a diagonal shot. In the 69th minute, Quang Hai made a delicate pass to put Van Toan in a favorable position and the former HAGL striker did not miss the opportunity to increase the score to 3-0.

Substitute Nguyen Van Vi scored the final goal for the Vietnamese team in the 83rd minute, with a powerful shot from outside the penalty area.
In the 90+5 minute, the Laos team scored a goal to narrow the gap to 1-4. Bounkong was the one who scored from the penalty spot. This was also the final score of the match./.