Vietnam to face Thailand in Southeast Asia futsal semis

By Duc Dong   October 24, 2019 | 03:28 am PT
Vietnam to face Thailand in Southeast Asia futsal semis
Vietnamese player Chau Doan Phat (R) strikes the last goal to raise the score to 4-2 against Malaysia at the Futsal HDBank Championship Southeast Asia 2019 in Ho Chi Minh City, October 23, 2019. Photo by VnExpress/Duc Dong.
The Vietnamese futsal team will face Thailand in the semifinals of the Futsal HDBank Championship Southeast Asia 2019 after beating Malaysia 4-2 Wednesday.

Vietnam had already secured a spot in the semifinals before the match and aimed to lead Group B by scoring five goals against Malaysia opponent, who they'd lost against in the last two consecutive seasons.

The Malaysian players played with determination for a consolation win, and were not hesitant to play rough, committing several fouls and making things harder for the hosts.

Nguyen Thanh Tin scored the first goal for Vietnam in the sixth minute, but the team missed many opportunities to raise the score and the first half ended 1-0.

Coach Miguel Rodrigo then instructed his players to play faster and put more pressure on the Malaysian goal.

Vu Duc Tung raised the score to 2-0 with a beautiful shot in the 26th minute, but Vietnam paid for not using their opportunities well as some mistakes allowed Malaysia to even the score with two goals in the 33 and 36 minutes by Abu Haniffa and Addie Azwan.

In the last couple minutes, Nguyen Minh Tri and Chau Doan Phat were able to take advantage of Malaysia’s mistakes to deliver a 4-2 victory for the home team.

Indonesia beat Australia 8-2 to take the top spot in Group B.

Vietnam share the same seven points as Indonesia, but are ranked second on goal difference.

Vietnam will face Thailand, leader of Group A, while Indonesia will face Myanmar in the semi-finals on Friday. Thailand beat Myanmar 9-0 in their group match.

The Futsal HDBank Championship Southeast Asia 2019 is being held at the Phu Tho Stadium in Ho Chi Minh City from October 21-27. This is the fourth time that Vietnam is hosting this tournament.

The top three teams will win tickets to the 2020 AFC Futsal Championship in Turkmenistan.

 
 
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