Vietnam Beats Thailand in Southeast Asia U19 Bronze Medal Battle
Score: Quoc Viet 54 '-Sittha 43'
A poor performance against Thailand, but Vietnam has again scored well against their Southeast Asian rivals. Thanks to Quoc Viet's excellent performance at the start of the second half and goalkeeper Van Binh's excellent performance in penalty shootout, Vietnam finished third in the U19 Southeast Asia final. Vietnam's unbeaten record against Thailand at U19 level has also expanded to six games.
Just like the match in the last round of the group stage, Vietnam fell behind in the first half. In just the first 10 minutes, Thailand three times threatened the Vietnamese goal. In the 22nd minute, the ball reached the vertical post after Phanthamit pricked the tip of the shoe from the exit to face Van Binh.
The pressure was only slightly relieved, after Khuong Van Khang twice finished in the second half of the round. But in terms of the number of opportunities, Thailand excels. The blue shirt team concretized that with a goal late in the first half. From a messy situation in the penalty area, captain Theekawin hit the Van Binh, before Sittha Booniha kicked into the open net to open the scoring.
The difficult game in the first half forced coach Dinh The Nam to adjust immediately after the break. He launched Quoc Viet, who scored four goals from the beginning of the tournament, into the field. The No.9 striker took just nine minutes to make the difference, when he came down very quickly and finished coolly equalizing 1-1 in the 54th minute.
The goal lifted Vietnam's spirits, but Thailand was still the better team for the rest of the match. Having to play with a thick density in the tournament caused the two teams to lose strength in the last 20 minutes. Thailand sped up in stoppage time, but couldn't settle the game for 90 minutes.
The matchup took a penalty shootout to find the winner. There, Thailand paid the price for the only broken shot, coming from Chanapach. After goalkeeper Van Binh stopped the opponent's finish, Dinh Bac successfully kicked the decisive penalty, helping Vietnam win 5-3 in the brain balance series.
Vietnam's next major event is the Asian U20 qualifiers to be held from September 14 to 18. Ten best teams and five best runners-up will participate in the 2023 U20 Asian Finals together with the host U20 Uzbekistan. Vietnam is in Group F with hosts Indonesia, East Timor and Hong Kong.
