Vietnam beat Yemen to qualify for U23 Asian Cup

Although Vietnam won, it doesn’t mean that they had a good match.

The team’s approach was unorganized and clueless. In the first 30 minutes, Vietnam often lost possession and failed to create any relevant chance.

Two minutes later, Yemen almost got ahead with Gassem Al-Shafari’s effort, but lucky for Vietnam that they had goalkeeper Nguyen Van Viet, who was excellent in this game.

In the rest of the first half, all Vietnam could do was making passes and crosses into the box without a destination.

Head coach Philippe Troussier made three substitutions right after the break, but Vietnam didn’t play better.

Yemen’s chances were still more relevant. In the 56th minute, Al-Sharafi ran up from the left flank and had a fake shot to get past a Vietnam defender before finishing into the side of the net.

The turning point for Vietnam only came when coach Troussier put Khuat Van Khang and Bui Vi Hao on.

The duo, especially Van Khang, enhanced the team’s offensive power and chances started to appear more, but the goal still avoided Vietnam.

When fans started thinking about a disappointing draw, the precious goal came. In the 84th minute, from a corner taken by Van Khang, Vi Hao had an accurate header to bring Vietnam the winning goal.

With this tough win, Vietnam have claimed two victories out of three matches, securing their top spot of group C and qualifying for the final tournament. They will play Singapore next on Tuesday while Yemen play Guam.

For Yemen, they had a good game but were unfortunate and their qualifying chance is slim.