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Going up against a much stronger Saudi Arabia, Vietnam had a great start in the first half as they created many scoring chances.
They almost scored in the 35th minute when Le Minh Binh’s shot from outside the box hit the bar.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia didn’t panic when Vietnam put pressure on them. They kept their cool and using their strength as well as great skills to counter Vietnam’s attacks.
Six minutes after Vietnam hit the bar, Saudi Arabia got the goal. Moteb Al-Harbi took advantage of a moment of distraction from Vietnam defenders and finished from the left flank. The ball went into the far corner and left goalkeeper Quan Van Chuan no chance.
After the first half, Vietnam couldn’t maintain the pressure on Saudi Arabia despite making a few substitutions to strengthen the offense.
On the other hand, Saudi Arabia dominated in possession and stopped Vietnam’s attacks effectively. Their second goal came in the 65th minute when Al-Harbi crossed inside for Firas Al-Buraikan to head it in.
Vietnam went all out on the offense to seek a goal but that also allowed Saudi Arabia to exploit the space behind them.
In the 77th minute, Al-Buraikan received the ball from a counter attack and he could have scored again if keeper Van Chuan didn’t tackle him. The Vietnam keeper received a red card and Vietnam have used up all the substitutions.
Forward Nham Manh Dung had to play as the keeper for the rest of the game, but no more goals were scored and Vietnam lost 0-2 to Saudi Arabia and exited the tournament.
U23 Asian Cup: Vietnam 0-2 Saudi Arabia
