Vietnam’s U22 team received praise from foreign media outlets for earning a spot in the semi-finals of the ongoing ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) U22 Youth Championship after beating Timor Leste 4-0 on February 19.

Vietnam’s U22 team (in white) in action (Photo: www.the-afc.com)

“A defensive lapse of Vietnam in the first half almost allowed Timor Leste to score but that failure gave Vietnam the chance to pour forward and in the 40th minute, they grabbed the lead when striker Tran Danh Trung capitalised on miscommunication to put the ball away,” the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) wrote on its website.

That goal seemed to affect Timor Leste and in the 62nd minute, Danh Trung was on target again as he broke down the left before cutting in to blast past Aderito Fernandes. Timor Leste’s goal was breached again in the 82nd minute with Phan Thanh Hau picking up a pass from deep to score, the AFC added.

It continued that with just seconds remaining in the game, substitute Le Xuan Tu completed Vietnam’s win with a header after Nguyen Huu Thang’s earlier attempt was blocked.

Meanwhile, in an article titled “Vietnam ease past Timor Leste to book Semi-final spot”, football website Fox Sports Asia said the Golden Dragons got off to the perfect start by beating Philippines by 2-1 on February 17. 

Vietnam will face Thailand on February 21 in a match deciding the top position of Group A. Thailand beat the Philippines 3-0 to become semi-finalists. -VNA