Defeating Malaysia, U23 Vietnam officially passed the group stage

Compared to the match with Korea, the starting lineup of U23 Vietnam has 5 changes, all from the midfield. Besides Dung Quang Nho, there are Nguyen Hai Long, Huynh Cong Den, Nguyen Thanh Nhan and Tran Van Cong.

Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the field, U23 Malaysia also had quite a few personnel changes. This is understandable, because coach Brad Maloney's team was officially eliminated after 2 consecutive defeats against U23 Korea and U23 Thailand.

It was not beyond the experts’ predictions that U23 Vietnam were the ones dominating the game. However, it was not until the 28th minute that Coach Gong Oh-kyun’s students were able to convert their advantage into an opening goal.

Nham Manh Dung was the player who scored the opening goal. Photo: Lam Thoa/VnExpress

From a very precise cross by Nguyen Thanh Nhan, striker Nham Manh Dung jumped high and headed the ball into the U23 Malaysia net.

Before the first half ended, thanks to the help of the VAR team, the Sri Lankan referee awarded U23 Vietnam a penalty kick and also disqualified defender Hairiey for handling the ball, after Dung Quang Nho's smart turn.

On the 11m mark, captain Bui Hoang Viet Anh had to take 2 consecutive shots to raise the score to 2 - 0 for U23 Vietnam. The goal of the player wearing shirt number 4 was scored in the 45 + 8 minute.

The joy of the U23 Vietnam players. Photo: Tuoi Tre.

Entering the second half,U23 Vietnamcontinued to push the team up high in search of more goals. But against the dense defense of U23 Malaysia, the attacks of the team led by coach Gong Oh-kyun were not as effective as expected.

In the 64th minute, Nguyen Thanh Nhan had a cross pass to substitute player Nguyen Van Tung to finish close to the goal. Unfortunately, at close range and unmarked, the striker wearing the number 9 shirt hit the post, leaving goalkeeper Firdaus helpless.

In contrast to what U23 Vietnam created, U23 Malaysia players only knew how to defend to avoid conceding more goals. Occasionally, the yellow team had quick counter-attacks, but they were all easily neutralized.

The match ended with a score of 2 - 0 in favor of U23 Vietnam. With this result, coach Gong Oh-kyun and his team won the 2nd place in Group C, behind U23 Korea, the team that defeated U23 Thailand with a score of 1 - 0 in the match at the same time.

Starting lineup

U23 Vietnam: Van Chuan, Tien Long, Viet Anh, Thanh Binh, Tuan Tai, Van Cong, Cong Den, Thanh Nhan, Hai Long, Quang Nho, Manh Dung.

U23 Malaysia: Firdaus, Cheng, Harith, Faiz, Nur Azfar, Zikri, Mukhairi, Syahir, Umar, Aiman, Shafi.

Thanh Hung