Nguyễn Hiểu Minh (4) celebrating his goal that doubled the lead for Việt Nam against Jordan Tuesday. Photo courtesy of the AFC

Anh Đức

RIYADH — Việt Nam U23s started their 2023 AFC U23 Asian Cup campaign with a stunning 2-0 victory against Jordan on Tuesday.

Goals from SEA Games heroes Nguyễn Đình Bắc and Nguyễn Hiểu Minh in the first half were enough to give Kim Sang-sik's men three points in the chase to replicate the 'Miracle of Changzhou' eight years ago.

The famous triumph by Kim's predecessor Park Hang-seo, which propelled Vietnamese football back to continental prominence, was largely avoided as a subject in the pre-match press conference by coach Kim.

The South Korean manager preferred to alleviate his players of the pressures of past results, and insisted that Việt Nam focus on the tasks ahead.

Fresh off just three weeks from their SEA Games gold medal winning campaign in Thailand, the squad was mostly unchanged going into the tournament, with the unfortunate absence of key player Nguyễn Thanh Nhàn, who scored the winning goal in the final against Thailand.

There were doubts about fatigue and form for the players, having been in bootcamp since November for the SEA Games, but confidence waw high across the squad, as evident in the pre-match press conference.

Kim elected to start SEA Games MVP Đình Bắc as a false nine striker in the starting line-up, with Nguyễn Lê Phát being the surprise choice in the left wing, replacing Russian-Vietnamese Viktor Lê.

Việt Nam started the match confidently and in the second minute got the first shot on target courtesy of Khuất Văn Khang, whose long-range effort forced a save from Jordan's Abdel Rahman Al-Talalga.

The men in red surprisingly dominated possession in the early part of the first half, which led to multiple chances coming their way, one of which led to a corner in the 11th minute.

An outswinging cross from Nguyễn Đình Bắc hit the arm of Mohammad Taha inside the penalty area, and after three minutes of consultation with VAR, the referee pointed to the spot.

Đình Bắc beat Al-Talalga to give Việt Nam the lead.

Kim's men did not falter and had more chances after the opener. In the 29th minute, a towering header from Phạm Lý Đức hit Lê Phát right on the line. The rebound found Đình Bắc but the Vietnamese No. 7 could not convert.

Bắc and his teammates doubled the lead just before the interval.

In the 41st minute, again from a corner, Hiểu Minh found himself free from Văn Khang's pass and tapped in the net, ending the first half 2-0 to Việt Nam.

With nothing to lose, Jordan went all out in the second half but could not penetrate a sophisticated mid-block defensive game of Việt Nam.

Việt Nam could have extended their lead to three, when Nguyễn Thái Quốc Cường, cousin of the famous Nguyễn Công Phương, hit the bar in the fourth minute of added time.

Jordan replied in the final minutes when Odeh Al-Fakhouri went one-on-one with Trung Kiên, but could not beat the Vietnamese keeper.

With this result, Việt Nam went top of Group A and will play Kyrgyzstan on Friday in their second match in the group stage. — VNS