Quang Hai and Cong Phuong shine, Vietnam wins ticket to final after 10 years

Going into this match, Coach Park Hang-seo only made one change to the starting lineup compared to the first leg of the semi-final, when Xuan Truong replaced Hung Dung in the central midfield position. Meanwhile, on the other side of the battle line, Coach Sven-Goran Eriksson did not field two notable faces from the start, goalkeeper Falkesgaard and central midfielder Manuel Ott.

Unlike the first leg of the semi-final, the first minutes of the second leg were extremely exciting, with both teams exchanging blows. With nothing left to lose, the visiting team Philippines played high-level pressing, not hesitating to commit fouls on the home team's players. A balanced match was created at My Dinh Stadium.

Trong Hoang, Van Duc and Xuan Truong during the warm-up. Photo: Trung Kien.

As time passed towards the end of the first half, the ball often rolled in the Philippines' field more. Dangerous opportunities were continuously created by the players in red, but Quang Hai, Van Duc and Anh Duc were all unable to successfully take advantage of the deadlock of the match. The two teams went to the break with the score tied at 0-0.

After the break, the Philippines continued to push up their formation in search of an opening goal. However, the visitors' attacks were not really sharp and were easily neutralized by the home team's solid defense.

Realizing that the midfield was playing at a disadvantage, in the 61st minute, coach Park Hang-seo made the first substitution by sending Huy Hung onto the field to replace Xuan Truong.

Quang Hai had an excellent match when he scored the opening goal. Photo: VnExpress.net

As the match progressed, the Philippines players showed more impatience and frustration in penetrating the Vietnamese defense. On the opposite side, the home team continued to maintain a tight defense and quick counterattack.

The home team's result came as quite a surprise. In the 83rd minute, the entire My Dinh stadium exploded after Quang Hai's goal. The first credit for this goal went to Van Duc with his smart dribbling and precise assist.

Cong Phuong came off the bench and scored to raise the score to 2-0. Photo: TK

Just 4 minutes later, Cong Phuong increased the score to 2-0 for the home team, with an accurate left-footed shot. But just 2 minutes later, James Younghusband headed the ball into the net of goalkeeper Van Lam, reducing the score to 1-2 for the Philippines.

The match ended with a 2-1 victory for coach Park Hang-seo and his team. In the end, Vietnam defeated the Philippines with a total score of 4-2 and reached the final match against Malaysia.

Starting lineup:

Vietnam National Team:Van Lam, Ngoc Hai, Dinh Trong, Duy Manh, Van Hau, Trong Hoang, Xuan Truong, Duc Huy, Quang Hai, Van Duc, Anh Duc.

Philippines National Team:Deyto, Aguinaldo, Steuble, Murga, Silva, Ramsay, Schrock, Ingreso, Reed, Reichelt, P. Younghusband.