Vietnam lose King's Cup to Curacao after penalty shootout

By Staff reporters    JUN. 8, 2019

Vietnam played a tough game against their stronger opponent, losing 4-5 in penalty shootout after the main time ended 1-1.

Vietnam entered the King's Cup final all offensive on Saturday night but that did not play well until the last minute.

After having to neutralize many attacks from Vietnam in the first half, Curacao put their team together and launched more serious shots in the second half. Jurich Carolina opened the score board in the 54th minute, taking a dangerous shot from outside the box.

Vietnam players had a great setup in another half an hour, enabling Pham Duc Huy to score the equalizer.

As it's a friendly tournament, the teams went straight into penalties after the game ended 1-1 in 90 minutes, and Vietnam were defeated 4-5. Striker Nguyen Cong Phuong, who excelled in the main game with many good shots, failed in the shootout as his shot went too high.

Despite losing in the final, Vietnam has secured their spot in the top 16 in Asia on FIFA rankings. This position will help Vietnam get a spot in the pot 2 of World Cup 2022 qualification's seeding.

Curacao, with many players trained in Europe, are considered a much stronger opponent of Vietnam. They stand 82nd in FIFA rankings, compared to Vietnam's 97, up one place after they beat Thailand on Wednesday.

India came third at the four-team tournament after defeating host Thailand 1-0.

 
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