Vietnam beat Thailand to defend SEA Games women’s football title

Forward Huynh Nhu was on target as Vietnam surged past Thailand 1-0 in the final match of the 31st SEA Games women’s football event on the evening of May 21 to successfully defend their SEA Games gold medal.

Saturday, May 21, 2022 14:00

Huynh Nhu scores in the second half to steer Vietnam to their third successive SEA Games title. (Photo: NDO/Tran Hai)

The two teams went level into halftime before the Vietnam captain got on the scoresheet to steer her side to their third successive title at the SEA Games arena.

Vietnam poured constant pressure on Thailand after the first whistle, with Nguyen Thi Van and Huynh Nhu almost opening the scoring, but goalkeeper Boonsing made smart saves to rescue the Thai side.

Forward Tuyet Dung fires a shot during the match. (Photo: NDO/Thanh Dat)

In the face of Vietnam’s diverse attacks, Thailand were force to play on the defence in the following minutes.

Vietnam dominated ball possession but could not find the back of the net before halftime.

After the break, Mai Duc Chung’s side maintained their dominance and went ahead in the 59th minute thanks to Huynh Nhu’s brilliant showing. The Vietnam captain broke the offside trap and dribbled the ball past goalkeeper Boonsing before slotting it into the empty net to put Vietnam in front.

After the goal, Thailand pushed hard for an equaliser, but only to see Vietnam almost double their advantage in the 80th minute. Tuyet Dung’s shot was parried by Boonsing and Thuy Trang fired a shot on the rebound which was denied by the post.

With time running out, Thailand created several opportunities but could not convert any of them into a goal.

With the 1-0 victory, Vietnam won the SEA Games women’s football gold medal for the third successive time.

Earlier on the same day, the Philippines came from behind to beat Myanmar 2-1 to win the bronze medal.