Van Duc opened the score, Vietnam won the International Friendly Championship

Phan Van Duc's joy after scoring the opening goal of the match. Photo: Nhu Dat

The match between Vietnam and India is considered the final match of the tournament because through the first round, both teams did not lose to opponents from Southeast Asia. Specifically, Mr. Igor Stimac's team had a 1-1 draw with Singapore, while the host Vietnam easily defeated the team from the lion island with a score of 4-0. With that result, Mr. Park's students only need not lose to be able to win the championship of the Hung Thinh Cup International Friendly Tournament.

In the past, Vietnam was defeated by India with a score of 3-0. However, coach Park Hang-seo's students have made many new steps forward and experts consider this to be a confrontation between two teams of the same level.

Quang Hai was in the starting lineup of the Vietnam national team. Photo: Nhu Dat

What Vietnamese fans are waiting for in this match is the return of Quang Hai in the national team jersey, after the former midfielder of Hanoi FC moved to Paul FC. In addition, pillars such as Van Duc, Cong Phuong, Tien Linh, Que Ngoc Hai are also present in the starting lineup.

Cong Phuong did not score but played quite energetically in this match. Photo: Nhu Dat

With a series of good players in hand, but Vietnam was not the team that took the initiative when the ball rolled. Instead, it was India who played quite rhythmically and deployed quite diverse attacks. However, Mr. Igor Stimac's army could not maintain that advantage for too long. Thanks to the mobility of Van Duc, Cong Phuong, Quang Hai, they created many varied coordination pieces for the Vietnamese team.

In the 11th minute of the match, from a difficult corner kick by Cong Phuong, the Indian defender had to clear the ball, the ball found Van Duc's position. The midfielder from Song Lam Nghe An volleyed with feeling, defeating goalkeeper Singh Sandhu, opening the score for Vietnam.

Van Duc played brilliantly, creating an overwhelming situation for the Vietnamese team. Photo: Nhu Dat

In this match, Van Duc played more centrally than before. This way of playing brought out the ability to hold the ball and create sharp passes of the midfielder of Song Lam Nghe An. In many situations, the number 20 of Vietnam confidently dribbled in the center, then passed the ball into the space between the center-back and the opponent's full-back for Cong Phuong. However, in the final situations, the striker of Hoang Anh Gia Lai was still unable to convert the opportunity into a goal.

The Vietnamese team played more and more smoothly, leisurely, and only accelerated at decisive moments. Seeing that way of playing shows the remarkable maturity of Coach Park's students after experiencing major tournaments.

Que Ngoc Hai is still the leader in the defense of the Vietnamese team. Photo: Nhu Dat

Before the first 45 minutes ended, if he had been luckier, Tan Tai could have doubled the gap for Vietnam. The Binh Dinh defender shot diagonally, but the ball went wide of goalkeeper Singh Sandhu's goal.

Entering the second half, Vietnam still maintained the initiative against the opponent. Van Toan was the first player to be replaced in this half. The striker of the mountain club had many fast dribbles to threaten the opponent's goal. After many situations that caused trouble for India, in the 50th minute of the match, Van Toan doubled the gap for Vietnam. From the home team's players' pass, defender Anwar Ali failed to clear the ball well, creating conditions for Van Toan to accelerate and finish, defeating goalkeeper Singh Sandhu.

Van Toan scored to raise the score to 2-0 for Vietnam. Photo: Nhu Dat

After taking a 2-goal lead, coach Park Hang-seo decided to let his key players rest and continue testing the reserve players. Van Quyet was replaced by Van Duc, Tuan Anh replaced Tan Tai.

Van Quyet sealed a 3-0 victory for the Vietnamese team. Photo: Nhu Dat

Coming on, Van Quyet proved his class when he raised the score to 3-0 for Vietnam. The Hanoi FC captain received a cross from his teammate on the right wing, he made a reasonable control of the ball, eliminated the opponent's defense, then fired a tricky shot to defeat Singh Sandhu.

In the final minutes of the match, Vietnam took the initiative to play slowly and no longer maintained pressure on the opponent's field as before. Therefore, the final result was Vietnam's big 3-0 victory over India, thereby winning the Hung Thinh Cup International Friendly Championship.