(VOVWORLD) -Vietnam will clash with Thailand in the final match of the ongoing 2022 AFF U23 Championship in Cambodia after defeating Timor Leste 5-3 in a penalty shootout on Thursday evening.
 Vietnam cruise to 2022 AFF U23 Championship final to take on Thailand after beating Timore Leste in a penalty shootout in the semi-final game on February 24. |
U23 Vietnam chose to play slowly and cautiously as most of the players were infected with COVID-19 and new comers sent from Vietnam the same day had no training experience with the rest.
However, coach Dinh The Nam’s students carved out several scoring chances, but their balls were either repelled by goalkeeper Junildo or refused by the vertical post.
Difficulty arose in the 57th minute when midfielder Trung Anh left the pitch due to an injury.
Vietnamese players flexed their muscles, but they continued to miss chances and accepted the 0-0 draw in the official 90 minutes of the game.
In the extra time, Vietnam’s last substitute – goalkeeper Lam Dieu – was sent in to play as a striker. But no goals were scored.
In the penalty shootout, Vietnamese players proved to be more professional, overwhelmed their Timor Leste opponents 5-3.
Earlier Thailand trounced Laos 2-0 in another semi-final match of the same day to progress to the final game.