Vietnam Futsal drew with Russia despite being led 3-0
Russia is currently ranked fourth in the world, but does not have the strongest force when coming to Vietnam this time because many players are busy playing for European clubs. The two teams have met twice, Russia won 7-0 in the 2016 World Cup and won 3-2 in the 2021 World Cup.
With superior body shape and physical condition, Russia has the advantage over Vietnam. On the contrary, the home players persistently pursued and counterattacked to find a goal. In the 15th minute, Russia neutralized Vietnam's attack and then counterattacked quickly, skillfully coordinating in the penalty area to eliminate Vietnam's defense and goalkeeper Ho Van Y so that Pirogov could cushion the ball to open the score. Just one minute later, from the Russian goalkeeper's long kick, player Fakhrutdinov headed the ball into Vietnam's net to double the gap.
In the second half, the away team continued to dominate. In the 28th minute, the Russian players coordinated free kicks to allow Asadov to score the third goal.
After this loss, Vietnam shortened the score to 1-3 minutes at 29 when Tran Tuyen kicked the ball into the Russian player's leg and threw it into the net. Just a minute later, Vietnam coordinated a throw-in again and Chau Doan Phat volleyed the ball from midfield into the net, shortening the score to 2-3.
In the last five minutes, Vietnam played power-play - a strategy of kicking five players, without a goalkeeper. At this time, the home team kept the ball to threaten the opponent's goal. Combined with the passionate cheers from the audience packed into the Lanh Binh Thang gymnasium, the players' efforts were rewarded with a 3-3 equalizer. Pham Duc Hoa had the opportunity to kick into the opponent's net with only 14 seconds left.
This is Vietnam's third friendly match in the process of preparing for the 2024 Asian futsal tournament qualifying round. Previously, coach Diego Giustozzi's team played two matches with Hungary - drawing 1-1 on September 15 and then losing 1 match. -4 two days later.
