In the fourth, last minute of injury time in the second half, 19-year-old Nguyen Dinh Bac took a shoot from outside the box into the bottom left corner and goalkeeper Neil Etheridge couldn't even react and watched the ball go into the net.
Immediately after scoring, the teen raised his hands towards Vietnam's technical area. This was his first official match for the national team, after two friendly defeats to China and South Korea in September.
Bac ran to coach Philippe Troussier and hugged him, amid cheers from the coaching staff members.
The 19-year-old striker said he wanted to thank coach Troussier for trusting and giving him the opportunity to play in the past months.
In the post-match press conference, coach Troussier said he was touched by Bac's actions because it showed him recognition.
The 68-year-old coach also evaluated Bac as a potential player who will become more mature in the future.
Bac is the youngest player in Vietnam squad. He was eliminated from Song Lam Nghe An youth academy due to his limited height and moved to Quang Nam FC.
He is now nearly 1.8 m tall and has become a prominent young player in Vietnamese football. In the 2023 V. League 2, he scored eight and assisted seven goals to help Quang Nam win the championship and promotion to the V-League.
Contrary to Bac, the key attackers on the team did not have a good game. Striker Pham Tuan Hai (number 18) had at least three scoring opportunities but missed them all.
Vietnam's attackers for the lineup included Nguyen Tien Linh, Nguyen Van Toan and Hai, but in the second half they were replaced by Nguyen Van Quyet, Nguyen Van Tung and Bac.
Even Vietnam's opening goal came from a messy situation. After receiving a long pass, Toan (number 9) was able to eliminate two defenders, but he and Linh almost stepped on each other in the first finish.
It seemed like the opportunity would pass away, but the ball went to Toan (number 9) again, allowing him to shoot with his left foot to open the scoring.
Toan and his teammates had more opportunities later on but could not take advantage of them to seal the victory early.
Toan was injured in the 83rd minute due to a collision with Jefferson Tabinas and had to leave the field on a stretcher.
Wasting many chances led to the last 20 minutes filled with anxiety for Vietnam. If Santiago Rublico had been more careful with his finish in the 71st minute, Philippines could have equalized.
In the 85th minute, midfielder Nguyen Thanh Binh hesitated and lost the ball, which put goalkeeper Dang Van Lam in danger.
After the match, coach Troussier admitted that Vietnam were somewhat lucky to not concede in the second half.
"I don't know what the score would have been like if we let the Philippines score at that time," he said.
A rough start but with three points in hand, Vietnam confidently look forward to the next match against Iraq at home stadium My Dinh in Hanoi on Nov. 21.
After returning to the hotel, the team had a late dinner while watching Iraq play against Indonesia. On Friday night, the team will fly back to Vietnam.
