Bùi Vĩ Hào celebrates after completing his brace that claimed all three points for Việt Nam against Kuwait. — VNA/VNS Photo

Anh Đức

DOHA — The Việt Nam U23 national football team started their journey at the 2024 AFC U23 Asian Cup with a 3-1 victory against Kuwait on Wednesday.

Despite the scoreline, the victory was hard-fought, with the Golden Star Warriors reduced to ten men right in the first half.

Nguyễn Văn Tùng opened the scoring for Việt Nam in the first minute of first half added time but Kuwait equalised seconds before the interval with a penalty by Salman Al-Awadi.

It took a brace from substitute Bùi Vĩ Hào in the second half to claim the three points for Việt Nam, though the story could have been so much different for both sides.

Dark clouds hovered over Hoàng Anh Tuấn's first match as U23 coach, as starlet Nguyễn Đình Bắc taken off injured in the sixth minute.

In the 15th minute, a good opportunity came for Việt Nam, as Võ Nguyên Hoàng dribbled past the Kuwaiti defence and crossed low from the left side. Nguyễn Văn Tùng and Khuất Văn Khang both went for the ball and crashed into each other, sustaining minor injuries to themselves in the process.

The real drama of the match happened in the 29th minute when Văn Khang was clearly fouled by the Kuwaiti player for stealing the ball from Ebrahim Marzouq. VAR stepped in and found Marzouq stomping on Khang's thigh, and he advised referee Abdulla Al-Marri to brandish a red card.

With the man advantage, Việt Nam dominated possession and created chance after chance. But it was only until the end of the first half that they found their breakthrough. In the 45th minute, Văn Trường found Văn Tùng free on the left wing with a great through pass, and an unmarked Tùng finished in style with a delicate shot into the bottom left corner of the net.

However, just after the kickoff, the Vietnamese defence let Abdul Karam through inside the box, and tournament debutant Nguyễn Ngọc Thắng gave away a foul and conceded the penalty. Thắng was shown red after VAR intervened and concluded that the 22-year-old had been denied a goal-scoring opportunity.

As Al Wadhi equalised from the spot and all of Việt Nam's advantages evaporated right before the interval, forcing coach Tuấn to make three substitutions, with Vĩ Hào, Nguyễn Minh Quang, and Nguyễn Mạnh Hưng coming on for Văn Khang, Nguyên Hoàng, and Văn Tùng.

Việt Nam was given a gift from Kuwait's captain Ali Marzouq, as the goalkeeper fumbled a backpass, and the ball was stolen by Vĩ Hào, who put the ball into the empty net and reclaimed Việt Nam's lead in the 48th minute.

Hoàng Anh Tuấn's team also had their fair share of comedic errors. In the 55th minute, Minh Quang had an empty net to shoot, but the striker did not take the shot and chose to dribble for a moment, with his final shot blocked by the Kuwaiti defence. Though his teammate scored with the rebound, the goal is disallowed as a player was offside in the lead-up play.

As the game dragged on, Việt Nam played better and were in complete control despite being down to ten men. In the 76th minute, 2023 V-League Young Player of the Season Nguyễn Thái Sơn hit a great pass that found Vĩ Hào free inside the box. Though the ball was hit without power, Ali Marzouq was unable to save it, and Việt Nam extended their lead.

Hào's double sealed the 3-1 victory and a crucial three points for Việt Nam in Group D. The Golden Star Warriors now lead the group, having scored one more goal than Uzbekistan, who won their opener 2-0 against Malaysia.

Despite the victory, coach Tuấn was not happy with his team's performances.

"The opponent was not special. My players did not play to their expected levels, and that created a problem," said Tuấn.

Tuấn also addressed Ngọc Thắng's sending-off, noting that such mistakes should not have happened.

Việt Nam will face Malaysia on Saturday, and a victory would put them closer to the quarter-finals. — VNS