Vietnam miss U22 AFF Championship final after Indonesia defeat

By Ha Do   February 24, 2019 | 04:42 pm PT
Vietnam miss U22 AFF Championship final after Indonesia defeat
An Indonesia player (red) performs a hard tackle on a Vietnam player at the U22 AFF Championship semifinal on February 24, 2019. Photo by VnExpress/Duc Dong
Vietnam will go into the third place playoff after losing 0-1 to Indonesia in the semifinals of the U22 AFF Championship Sunday.

Vietnam entered the game as the first placed team in group A, while Indonesia finished their group stage in second place.

Like the previous game, Vietnam succeeded in creating chances but failed to convert them.

On the other side, Indonesia chose a defensive approach and in the first 10 minutes, they had already committed three fouls that attracted no yellow cards.

In the second half, Indonesia continued playing defensive football, but ended up scoring in the 70th minute after an unnecessary tackle by centre back Nguyen Van Hanh gave them a free kick.

Luthfi Kamal’s shot was deflected into the net despite goalkeeper Nguyen Van Bieu’s valiant effort to make a save. Vietnam tried hard for the equalizer in the remaining time, but Indonesia protected their goal till the last minute with eleven men in the box.

They continued to commit fouls, perform hard tackles and even buy time by faking injuries. The referee handed out three yellow cards, but the team was through to the final. With this defeat, Vietnam will have to play the third place play-off on February 26 against Cambodia, who lost to Thailand after a penalty shootout in the other semifinal.

 
 
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