The Vietnam national team and their journey to winning the 2018 AFF Cup.

IMPRESSIVE END OF GROUP STAGE

- Laos 0-3 Vietnam:

The Vietnamese national team began their quest for the 2018 AFF Cup championship with an away match against Laos. Despite improvements in recent years, the two teams still had a significant gap in skill level. In the 11th minute, Cong Phuong scored his first goal in the race for the "Top Scorer" award, opening the scoring. At the start of the second half, Anh Duc doubled the lead before Quang Hai calmly sealed the 3-0 victory for Vietnam in the 68th minute.

- Vietnam 2-0 Malaysia:

Returning home for their second match in Group A, the Vietnamese national team hosted Malaysia at My Dinh Stadium. Against a direct competitor for first place, Coach Park Hang-seo's players executed their meticulously planned tactics brilliantly, securing a 2-0 victory at home to solidify their position at the top of the group.

Cong Phuong and Anh Duc helped the Vietnamese national team win against Malaysia in the group stage.

In the third matchday, the Vietnamese national team traveled to Thuwunna Stadium to face Myanmar. The team in red jerseys played with dedication, creating many opportunities, but after 90 minutes, our strikers missed several chances, and some inaccurate referee decisions resulted in a disappointing draw. After the third matchday, Vietnam still holds the top spot in the group, but this position is not guaranteed if they lose in the final match.

- Vietnam National Team 3-0 Cambodia National Team:

In the decisive match for first place in Group A of the 2018 AFF Cup, the Vietnamese national team returned home to host Cambodia at Hang Day Stadium. Although the coaching staff and players had made bold and determined statements before the match, the Cambodian team surprised the Vietnamese team in the first 20 minutes with their short passing game combined with good individual technique.

But that alone wasn't enough for the visiting team to score. Vietnam quickly regained control of the game, with goals coming in quick succession in the 39th and 41st minutes from Tien Linh and Quang Hai. In the 61st minute, Phan Van Duc controlled the ball, turned, and unleashed a spectacular shot to seal the 3-0 victory. Vietnam finished the group stage in first place in Group A, winning three matches and drawing one, accumulating 10 points. This position secured their place in the semi-finals against the Philippines.

The Vietnamese national team easily defeated the Cambodian national team to consolidate their position at the top of Group A.

A CONVINCING SEMI-FINAL ROUND

ButFirst leg of the semi-finalPhilippines 1-2 Vietnam:

The first leg of the semi-final between the Vietnamese and Philippine national teams took place at the Panaad Stadium (Philippines). On a poor pitch, the Philippine players displayed a rather violent style of football, targeting key Vietnamese players, especially Quang Hai. Vietnam took the lead in the 11th minute through veteran Anh Duc, but the Philippine players equalized in the first half.

In the second half, right in the opening minutes, Phan Văn Đức made a clever run after a lofted through ball from Trọng Hoàng before slotting the ball between the legs of the Philippine goalkeeper to make the score 2-1. This was also the final score of the match before the Vietnamese national team returned home to face their opponents at Mỹ Đình Stadium.

The Vietnamese national team did not face too many difficulties when they met the Philippines in the semi-finals.

- Semi-final second leg: Vietnam 2-1 Philippines

Returning to their home ground, cheered on by over 40,000 fans, the Vietnamese national team played with great enthusiasm, while the Philippines displayed a determined effort to turn the tide. The match remained evenly contested until the 80th minute when a goal finally came. Vietnam's goals came in quick succession in the 83rd and 87th minutes through Quang Hai and Cong Phuong, before James Younghusband scored the equalizer in the 89th minute. Ultimately, Vietnam defeated the Philippines in the semi-finals with a total score of 4-2 and will face Malaysia again in the final, after the latter brilliantly overcame Thailand in the other semi-final.

FINAL RACE

ButFirst leg of the final: Malaysia 2-2 Vietnam

The Bukit Jalil Stadium is never a pleasant place for any visiting team in Malaysia, and the Vietnamese national team was no exception in the first leg of the semi-final. In the first 20 minutes of the match, our players often appeared disorganized, making inaccurate passes and easily losing possession against the home team's enthusiastic and all-out pressing style of play.

But unexpectedly in the 22nd minute, Vietnam scored from a run down the left wing by Van Duc, who crossed the ball to Huy Hung, whose shot deflected off a Malaysian player's leg and into the net, leaving the home team's defense helpless. Immediately afterwards, Duc Huy silenced tens of thousands of Malaysian fans with a beautiful goal from outside the 16-meter box. From that moment on, the Vietnamese team played with renewed enthusiasm and continuously attacked, creating a series of unfortunate missed opportunities before Malaysia scored a goal to reduce the deficit from a set piece.

In the second half, the game was balanced with opportunities for both teams, but a momentary lapse in concentration from the Vietnamese defense allowed the opponent to equalize with a beautiful free-kick, and 2-2 was the final score of the first leg of the semi-final.

Vietnam won the match 3-2 against Malaysia, securing the AFF Cup 2018 championship.

- Second leg of the final: Vietnam 1-0 Malaysia

Entering the match with home advantage and two away goals, the Vietnamese national team scored in the 6th minute through Anh Duc. Throughout the first half, both teams had many opportunities to change the score, but neither could capitalize, and the 1-0 lead for Vietnam remained unchanged. In the second half, Coach Park Hang-seo's players played with great effort to maintain the score, and there were also many chances to increase the score or equalize for the visiting team, but the score remained unchanged. The match ended with a 1-0 score, and the aggregate score over two legs was 3-2 in favor of the home team.THE VIETNAMESE NATIONAL TEAM WINS THE 2018 AFF CUP AFTER A 10-YEAR WAIT.

Thank you to Coach Park Hang-seo and all the players, medical staff, coaching staff, and millions of fans who have supported the Vietnamese national team throughout the campaign to reclaim the number one spot in Southeast Asia. This is a well-deserved achievement, thanks to the sound tactics from the coaching staff, the players' utmost efforts, and the passionate and selfless support from all corners of the country.

Hopefully, with this success, the players, coaching staff, and millions of fans will stand together so that the Vietnamese national teams at all levels will achieve even more success in upcoming tournaments.