U23 Vietnam wins AFF U23 Championship

U23 Vietnam had 16 players to attend the final match against U23 Thailand with the return of five players who were infected with Covid-19 before. Their comebacks helped Coach Dinh The Nam and his associates have more choices and many plans for the most important match of the tournament. The red-jersey “warriors” began the game better with the mobility of the attacking trio, including Captain Quang Nho, Bao Toan, and Nguyen Hoang.

Nguyen Hoang had two opportunities to approach the net of U23 Thailand. The first happened in the 17th minute when the striker of U23 Vietnam dived for a header to send the ball near the net. Five minutes later, this striker made a shot in the penalty area but could not beat the Thai goalkeeper. In the 45th minute, Quang Nho performed a curved free-kick, sending the ball over the crossbar.

Meanwhile, Thailand also had two dangerous situations. The first situation took place in the 8th minute when Thanawut launched a shot from outside the penalty area, but goalkeeper Tuan Hung successfully caught the ball. In the 25th minute, Thanawut made the defense of U23 Vietnam wobble again with a shot that hit the post. It seemed that the two teams would take the break with a draw of 0-0. However, U23 Vietnam got the opening goal at the 45+1th minute, which started from the situation of organizing an attack on the left wing when Tuan Tai crossed the ball in for Bao Toan to head it toward the far corner of Thailand’s net.

Leading by one goal helped the players of Coach Dinh The Nam play more comfortably in the second half. There were even more opportunities for the red-jersey team. Striker Nguyen Hoang was still the final destination of passes of the U23 Vietnam. The hand of the clock turned to the 56th minute, the shot made by the striker of PVF forced the Thai goalkeeper to try his best to block it. Ten minutes later, receiving a through ball from his teammate, Nguyen Hoang escaped marking, but the Thai goalkeeper still won. Even after defeating all the Thai players, the crossbar denied Nguyen Hoang's goal from a high header situation.

Towards the end of the match, U23 Vietnam proactively reduced the tempo of the match. The certainty and focus of the defense, besides the sharpness of players in the attack, supported the players of Coach Dinh The Nam to maintain the advantage of one goal until the end of the match. Overcoming the difficulties of the Covid-19 pandemic, U23 Vietnam earned their first AFF U23 Championship deservedly and proudly.