The Vietnamese national football team lost 1-3 to archrival Thailand in its final match of the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Cup qualifying round on November 31.




    
After a draw and a loss in previous matches, Vietnam desperately needed a win to have any chance of advancing to the tournament’s semi-finals.

Head coach Phan Thanh Hung made some adjustments to the starting line-up with midfielder Van Quyet playing forward and Sy Cuong replacing Thanh Hung in a defensive midfielder position.

The team started aggressively  but failed to break the solid Thai defence, missing the long passes down both flanks when wingers Hong Tien and Van Hoan tended to drift towards middle positions.

Hung had the first chance to scorewith a powerful shot from 30m but it unluckily hit the crossbar.

The Thai players’ press—courtesy of the dynamic midfielder trio Arthit, Apipoo, and Purisay—put Tien and Hoan under tremendous pressure.

Thai striker Kirati opened the scoring in the 21st minute with a skilled tap after receiving the ball from Apippo on the right wing.

Despite the conceded goal, Vietnam continued to attack. The Thai defenders were steadfast and all the long-range shots by midfielders Thanh Luong, Trong Hoang, and Gia Tu did not trouble Thai keeper Kawin.

Thailand’s counterattacks proved more effective, and in the 64th minute, Kirati launched a powerful header to double the deficit after receiving Apipoo’s accurate long pass. It bettered both Vietnamese defenders Gia Tu and Minh Duc.

Thailand was handicapped when midfielder Arthit  received a red card in the 71st minute thanks to a foul against Thanh Luong.

It took only two minutes for Vietnam to exploit its numeric advantage with a beautiful header by Van Quyet.

Head  coach Hung made three substitutions in the hope of sparking a magnificent comeback.

But all his efforts were rendered meaningless when the team conceded another goal in the 82nd minute. Kirati scored again with another header, this time from a corner-kick.

With only one point after three matches, Vietnam was eliminated from the tournament.

VOV