After a nail-biting 1-1 draw against Thailand the day before, Vietnam would only need one more point against Malaysia to course through the qualification round; however, coach Hector Souto’s side even did better than that.
Vietnam delivered a sweet start to the match, as it took them just three minutes to open the scoring thanks to Nhan Gia Hung’s attempt.
Souto’s troops maintained their control in the remainder of the first half but could not find the back of the net for the second time.
After the break, Malaysia put up pressure and brought the match back to the starting line following a powerful long-range strike by Ahmad Harith Naim Mohd Nasir in the 23rd minute.
The last minutes saw Malaysia move on to use the power-play strategy seeking to reverse the situation. However, it had hardly taken effect when they were forced to concede a second goal. Huynh Mi Woen turned hero for Vietnam by scoring the winning goal a few seconds before the final whistle to seal a 2-1 triumph for Souto’s side.
Vietnamese players celebrate after the match.
In another match the same day, Thailand overcame Indonesia with a score of 4-2 to finish on top of the ASEAN zone qualifying round with ten points, two points above Vietnam, who drew 3-3 with Indonesia and beat Myanmar 2-1 in their remaining two games. Indonesia came in third place with seven points.
The overall rankings of the ASEAN zone qualifiers.
According to the rules, the top three teams of the ASEAN zone qualifiers qualify for the final tournament, which means that Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia will represent the ASEAN zone to compete in next year’s continental championship, which will feature 12 participating teams (one from the host country, three from ASEAN zone, three from Central zone, two from East zone, and three from West zone).
