International media praise: Vietnam team is too classy!
Convincingly defeating Malaysia 2-0 at My Dinh Stadium, the Vietnam team received many compliments from international media as well as Southeast Asian press.
Fox Sport Asia headlined "Vietnam's class blows Malaysia away". The article said "the visitors had an impressive start but were soon doused with cold water when Cong Phuong scored past goalkeeper Fahmi".
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| Cong Phuong poured cold water on Malaysia's defense - Photo: AFF |
Coach Park Hang Seo's Vietnam team played tight and effective counter-attacks, making the yellow shirt strikers "turn off the lights" every time they approached goalkeeper Dang Van Lam's penalty area.
Fox Sport added: 'Despite only having 33% possession throughout the match, Vietnam showed their superiority with two goals from two shots on target in each half.
Malaysia lacked creativity in attack so it was almost impossible to cause trouble for the Golden Dragons.
The AFF Suzuki Cup homepage wrote: "Two goals from Cong Phuong and Anh Duc were enough for Vietnam to defeat Malaysia. Under the enthusiastic cheers of more than 40,000 spectators at My Dinh Stadium, the Vietnamese team played 90 minutes calmly and effectively."
From Thailand, Siam Sport described: "Looking at the statistics, Malaysia appeared to be better than Vietnam. However, throughout the match they could not do anything in front of Dang Van Lam's goal.
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| Malaysia kept the ball a lot but could do nothing against Vietnam - Photo: AFF |
This is a victory of pragmatism and wisdom. Coach Park Hang Seo's team has shown that they are a strong candidate for the 2018 AFF Suzuki Cup championship."
Malaysia's leading newspaper - The Star expressed disappointment right in the headline: "Controlling the ball up to 66%, Malaysia still lost 0-2 to Vietnam".
They continued to comment on the match at My Dinh Stadium: "Malaysia started well but suffered a shocking blow in the 11th minute.
Cong Phuong’s opening goal must have pleased Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and the 40,000 fans in the stadium. Malaysia then continued to control the game but could not find a way to penetrate the opponent’s defense.
Vietnam's patience was rewarded with a second goal from Anh Duc. The home team played smartly, made good positioning and deserved the victory."
