Goleiro Ho Van Y was the hero of the shootout as he saved two spot kicks by Chan Thar and Zin Oo before Nguyen Minh Tri converted the decisive kick to take Pham Van Giang’s through to the continental tournament, which will be hosted by Kuwait this September.
This was also the fifth time Vietnam took bronze at the AFF Futsal Championship after the years 2010, 2013, 2014 and 2019. Their best result was a runner-up finish in 2009 and 2012.
The victory did not come easily for the Vietnamese team, with Nguyen Thinh Phat and Lam Tan Phat hitting the woodwork in the first half and shortly after halftime.
Pham Minh Giang’s troops created more opportunities but could not convert any of them into a goal.
(Photo: VFF)
It was not until the 29th minute that Vietnam broke the deadlock, with Thinh Phat cleverly handling the ball thrown to him by Ho Van Y and firing an unstoppable low shot to beat the Myanmar keeper.
After the goal, Myanmar put up their pressure seeking to equalise, but Ho Van Y showed excellent reflexes to rescue the Vietnamese side three times in a row.
In the last minute of play, Myanmar made good use of power-play to restore the parity as Zaw Lin beat Ho Van Y from close range to ignite their hopes of securing an Asian Cup berth.
In the shootout, Vietnam successfully converted four consecutive spot kicks compared to just one by Myanmar, thus sealing their place in the 2022 AFC Futsal Asian Cup.
