Fans on Le Loi Boulevard lit up the flares and danced in delight to celebrate the early goal in the third minute by Tien Linh, with a volley after receiving a pass from captain Do Hung Dung.
In the first leg of the semifinals last week, Indonesia got the home advantage with the support of 50,000 fans but couldn’t win against Vietnam. The goalless draw in the first leg made the second even more intense, as Indonesia would have had the away goal advantage if they had scored at Vietnam’s My Dinh National Stadium.
The fans continued the joy in the second half when Tien Linh scored once again, this time with a header to secure the win for Vietnam. This is Linh’s fifth goal at the tournament, which made him the top scorer of the 2022 AFF Cup, along with Thailand’s Teerasil Dangda.
The atmosphere on Le Loi started before the match. Many fans used loudspeakers and continuously chanted "Vietnam are the champions."
This year, HCMC installed three large screens for the fans to watch the AFF Cup on Le Loi. In previous tournaments, the screens were installed in the nearby Nguyen Hue pedestrian street.
Two young people held the Vietnamese flags up and cheered for the first goal.
"In previous matches, I also went to Le Loi to cheer for the team, but this one is really the most meaningful. The atmosphere is also much more passionate than a few days ago," said Vu, 49.
Huong, 37, is angry after seeing a dangerous tackle by an Indonesia player.
Indonesia lost their composure in the last minutes of the first half. After Ramdani kicked Ho Tan Tai in the leg, Asnawi tackled Doan Van Hau and got a yellow card.
Fans reacted when Vietnam nearly got a second goal at the end of the first half. Striker Pham Tuan Hai had space and ran down to face the Indonesia goalkeeper, but the referee put the offside flag up.
Throughout 90 minutes, Le Loi was energetic. Thousands of fans continuously put their hands up to show support for the team.
With a 2-0 victory over Indonesia, Vietnam extended the record of keeping clean sheets in the AFF Cup to seven matches, including six matches at this tournament and one from the previous. The opponent of Vietnam in the final is the winner of the remaining semifinal between Thailand and Malaysia on Tuesday. In the first leg, Malaysia won 1-0 against Thailand.
