The Vietnam national futsal team made a great surprise as they crushed the Republic of Korea 7-3 in their opening match at the on-going AFC Futsal Championship in Uzbekistan.

The Vietnam national futsal team made a great surprise as they crushed the Republic of Korea (RoK) 7-3 in their opening match at the on-going AFC Futsal Championship in Uzbekistan.

With physical advantage, the RoK started the game at high pace. They opened the scoring right in the second minute of the first half.

However, the early goal by strong rivals did not make the Vietnamese players lose their confidence. Only two minutes later, Trong Thien put the match to the starting point as he equalised for Vietnam from a free-kick. And it was Thien who helped Vietnam take the lead six minutes later.

The RoK then intensified attacks but could not break the Vietnamese’s good defence. Trong Thien once again added his name to the scoring list as he widened the gap into 3-1 for Vietnam in the 24th minute.

The RoK’s Jonghoon narrowed the gap for his team in the 31st minute but Vietnam widened the gap to 4-2 with the goal by Hoang Giang in the 34th minute. Only one minute later, Jeongnam’s goal again opened the equalising hope for the RoK.

However, it was Vietnam’s match as Hoang Vinh and Ba Tuan scored two consecutive goals in the 37th and 38th from the penalty spot. Ba Tuan sealed a 7-3 victory for Vietnam in the final minute.

Earlier, in another match, Thailand defeated Kyrgyzstan 4-2.

Vietnam will take on Kyrgyzstan today.

Other results

Group A: Indonesia 6-1 Chinese Taipei, Uzbekistan 3 - 1 Lebanon

Group B: Iran 19 - 2 Tajikistan, Kuwait 2 - 4 Australia

Group D: Japan 5 - 1 China, Turkmenistan 3 - 5 Iraq

Source: Nhan Dan