Vietnam’s U23 football team beat Cambodia 6-1 in the final group stage match to book a semifinal birth while Thailand crashed out of the 25th SEA Games inn Vientiane last Friday.

The results of the two matches put Vietnam on top with 10 points while Malaysia to second place in the group with nine points.

Meanwhile, Thailand had topped the group with seven points before the final stage match, but the loss to Malaysia pulled it down to third, destroying the dream of winning its ninth consecutive SEA Games championship.

In the starting line-up, Vietnam’s coach Henrique Calisto used most of his best players.

Vietnam looked the stronger team from the very beginning and took the lead after 11 minutes with skipper Pham Thanh Luong firing in a powerful shot.

After the goal, the Vietnamese players slowed down, maybe to avoid possible injury, making it possible for Cambodia to fight back fiercely.

The pace of the match didn’t look tense but playmaker Trong Hoang suffered an injury and was carried off the pitch on a stretcher.

It was not clear how serious Hoang’s injury was but Calisto replaced Hoang with Manh Dung.

Vietnam doubled the score just before the break after Thanh Hung headed a Thanh Luong corner kick and kept the scoreboard ticking in the second half with four more goals. Cambodia managed to score a consolation goal late in the game.

Vietnamese players scored four more goals in the second half while Cambodia could pulled only one back.

Vietnam will take on Group B’s second-placed Singapore in the semifinals on Monday while Malaysia will clash with hosts Laos for a berth in the finals.

In the women’s football contest, Vietnam led 2-1 for most of the match, but Thailand scored the equalizer in the final minutes to top the table, while Laos beat Malaysia 5-0. Vietnam now needs to beat Laos in the next match to ensure a berth in the finals against Thailand.

Source: Thanh Nien