Nguyễn Xuân Son scoring his team's second goal. VNA/VNS Photos Minh Quyết

Anh Đức

HÀ NỘI — The Việt Nam-Thailand football rivalry will resume in a third consecutive ASEAN Championship final, after Việt Nam convincingly defeated Malaysia 2-0, completing a 4-0 aggregate victory to keep their title defence on track.

Two goals from substitute Nguyễn Xuân Son were enough to secure victory for the hosts in a match in which Malaysia also gave everything.

Heavy rain fell over Mỹ Đình National Stadium in the hours before kick-off, raising concerns that the pitch conditions could affect the players’ performances.

Việt Nam’s starting line-up also surprised many fans. Coach Kim Sang-sik switched from the 3-4-3 formation used for years since the Park Hang-seo era to an unfamiliar 3-5-2, with Nguyễn Hai Long and Nguyễn Đình Bắc partnering in attack and Đỗ Hoàng Hên starting in midfield. Nguyễn Xuân Son and Nguyễn Tài Lộc, who both started the first leg in Kuala Lumpur, were rested.

Malaysia, meanwhile, were so badly affected by injuries that they named two goalkeepers among their substitutes, a rare occurrence in the tournament. To advance, Tan Cheng Hoe’s side needed to win by at least three goals, an extremely difficult task.

That task could have become even harder had Việt Nam’s attackers not wasted several opportunities in the first half. The hosts attempted 14 shots compared with Malaysia’s one, but none was enough to break the deadlock.

The two most notable moments of the opening half were missed chances involving Đình Bắc and Hoàng Hên.

In the 28th minute, Nguyễn Hai Long sprinted past a Malaysian centre-back and found himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper. The Quảng Ninh-born midfielder chose to pass to Đình Bắc, who was celebrating his 22nd birthday. However, Bắc failed to control the ball and squandered the opportunity to open the scoring.

In the final minute of the first half, another swift counter-attack sent Hoàng Hên through on goal. His shot struck the side netting, briefly fooling spectators watching from home and even some live-scoring apps into thinking Việt Nam had scored.

Malaysia issued a warning in the 54th minute when Paulo Josué struck a fierce first-time volley from a tight angle, forcing Patrik Lê Giang to punch the ball away.

Nguyễn Xuân Son (12) celebrating with teammates.

The chance prompted coach Kim to make much-needed changes to the attacking line-up. Hoàng Hên and Hai Long were replaced by Xuân Son and Tài Lộc in the 60th minute.

The impact was felt just three minutes later. After a scramble inside the Malaysian box following a deep cross by Nguyễn Hoàng Đức, the ball eventually fell to Xuân Son, who easily tapped into the empty net.

The Brazilian-born striker scored again one minute from the end of regulation time, making a powerful run before firing a pinpoint shot through the goalkeeper’s legs and into the back of the net to secure Việt Nam’s victory.

Xuân Son’s brace brought him level with teammate Đình Bắc on five goals in the tournament.

“We only had one rest day after the first match,” coach Kim said after the game. “We played better than in the away leg and fixed what we failed to do three days ago.”

Việt Nam’s opponents Thailand survived a scare in their semi-final, as Singapore almost fought back from a 3-1 first-leg defeat and came within one away goal of taking the tie to extra time.

The first leg between Việt Nam and Thailand will take place at Rajamangala National Stadium in Bangkok on August 23. The return leg will be held at Mỹ Đình National Stadium in Hà Nội on August 26.— VNS