Palestine scored the opening goal of the match after a good header of Palestine striker Oday Dabbagh from a close range in the 29th minute.

However, just moments before the first half closed, the Vietnamese team equalised the score. In the second half, the home side continued their good performance, and their efforts were paid off with the second goal coming in the 52nd minute of the match.

Thanks to Quang Hai’s through ball, striker Cong Phuong performed a volley-style shot to beat the Palestine goalkeeper.

But as the clock ticked the Vietnamese men’s defence stood firm, and despite Palestine’s best efforts the score remained 2-1.

This was the first competitive match the U23’s have played since their heroics at the beginning of the year reaching the final of the AFC Tournament in China.

After the match with Palestine, Vietnam will next face Oman on August 5 and then Uzbekistan on August 7. All matches will take place at 7.30pm (Hanoi time).

The Vinaphone Cup draws four Asian teams in Vietnam, Uzbekistan, Oman and Palestine. The teams will each play each other once. The team with the most points will receive 20,000 USD in cash, while the runner-up will get 10,000 USD and third place 5,000 USD.-VNA