Vietnam beat Malaysia 3-1 in the last match of Group A at the ASEAN Football Federation Vietcombank U19 Youth Championship held yesterday in Hanoi.

After four matches, VN have 10 points to top Group A. Timor Leste, who defeated Singapore 2-0 in a match played at the same time, are second with nine points. Malaysia are third with six points, followed by Singapore with four points and the Philippines with zero points.

The group’s two best teams VN and Timor Leste qualified for the semi-finals.

Việt Nam only needed a draw against Malaysia to reach the semi-final so VN coach Hoang Anh Tuan asked his players to play it safe.

However, in the 13th minute of the match, Nguyen Duy Khanh opened the scoring for VN.

After that, the visitors attacked heaped pressure on the Vietnamese but failed to equalise.

In the 81st minute, from a cross from Ho Minh Di, Doan Van Hau headed past the Malaysian goalkeeper to double the score.

After the second goal, VN took their foot off the gas, allowing Malaysia to score, narrowing the gap to 1-2 in the 90th minute.

In extra time, Nguyen Tien Linh broke the offside trap to slot home and seal the result for VN.

VN’s rival in the semi-final match will be defined after the last round of Group B today.

The final will take place two days later.

VNS