Vietnam start Women's AFF Cup with thumping win

Coach Mai Duc Chung put many key players on the bench though several were already missing due to injury. The rain and the artificial grass at the Binan Stadium in the Philippines both affected Vietnam’s style of play.

In the beginning the team tried to keep possession with long passes. The tactic proved effective when in the 20th minute a pass found Ngan Thi Van Su at the back of Cambodia’s defense, and she curled it in with the outside of her foot to open the scoring.

Four minutes later Vietnam almost conceded when keeper Khong Thi Hang could not collect a simple pass and let the ball go past her, but it hit the post. Fortunately, no Cambodian player was there to tap it in.

At the half-hour mark Pham Hai Yen sprinted past the Cambodian keeper, Chea Sompors, and was fouled inside the box. The referee gave Vietnam a penalty and Yen successfully converted it.

In the first extra minute of the first half, Yen sent a through ball to Nguyen Thi Thanh Nha, who used her pace to get past the Cambodian defenders and beat the keeper.

In the second half Vietnam had the game under control but could not create many chances as Cambodia decided to play tougher in defense.

Coach Chung brought a few key players with 20 minutes left in the game, but no more goals were scored and Vietnam settled for a 3-0 win.

The stats showed Vietnam's domination with possession of 69 percent and 16 shots (compared to Cambodia's four).

The AFF Championship is being played in Manila from July 4 to 17.

Vietnam, the defending champions, are grouped with Myanmar, Timor Leste and Laos besides Cambodia.