Striker Nguyễn Đình Bắc opened the score for U23 Việt Nam in the semi-final of the 2025 ASEAN U23 Championship on Friday. — Photos vietnamplus.vn

HÀ NỘI — Goals from Nguyễn Đình Bắc and Nguyễn Xuân Bắc helped U23 Việt Nam come from behind to win 2-1 against the Philippines in the semi-final on Friday of the 2025 ASEAN U23 Championship.

Despite being favoured, Việt Nam were the team that conceded first in the 36th minute. From a throw-in on the left, Jian Caraig threw the ball directly into the penalty area. In a chaotic situation, Javier Mariona received the ball from a teammate's backward header and scored against Việt Nam.

Just five minutes later, Việt Nam equalised thanks to striker Đình Bắc, who took a decisive shot that hit the post, but he quickly followed up to score. The first half ended in a 1-1 draw.

In the second half, Việt Nam continued to dominate the game. In the 54th minute, the score was 2-1 in favour of the Vietnamese team as midfielder Xuân Bắc headed the ball into the far corner of the U23 Philippines' goal.

In the remaining minutes of the match, the situation worsened for the Philippines when, in the 90+4th minute, defender Noah Leddel received a direct red card for stopping a counter-attack by Quốc Việt.

The match concluded with a 2-1 victory for Việt Nam.

After the victory, coach Kim Sang-sik of Việt Nam said: "I am very happy to win and reach the final. My players worked hard, and I want to thank them. Everyone played well, showing exactly what we prepared for.

"We created many opportunities and followed the tactics well. Although we won 2-1, we missed several chances to finish the match earlier. Nevertheless, I am very pleased with this result

"No matter who we face in the final, it will be very difficult. But if we maintain the confidence we had today, Việt Nam can beat any opponent and win the championship."

Striker Xuân Bắc, who scored the decisive goal for Việt Nam, said: "It was a tough match, but the coaching staff provided a solid strategy for us to win. We need to improve our finishing ability to avoid missing too many chances like we did today."

Philippines coach Gareth McPherson expressed disappointment after the defeat.

He said: "We are sad because we believed we could win this match with our current team quality. Việt Nam are a strong team and controlled the game well. We tried to disrupt their play but were unsuccessful." VNS

Nguyễn Xuân Bắc raised the score to 2-1 for U23 Việt Nam.