HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam beat Malaysia 3-1 in the last match of Group A at the ASEAN Football Federation Vietcombank U19 Youth Championship held yesterday in Hà Nội.

After four matches, Việt Nam have 10 points to top Group A. Timor Leste, who defeated Singapore 2-0 in a match played at the same time, are second with nine points. Malaysia are third with six points, followed by Singapore with four points and the Philippines with zero points.

The group’s two best teams Việt Nam and Timor Leste qualified for the semi-finals.

Việt Nam only needed a draw against Malaysia to reach the semi-final so Việt Nam coach Hoàng Anh Tuấn asked his players to play it safe.

However, in the 13^th minute of the match, Nguyễn Duy Khánh opened the scoring for Việt Nam.

After that, the visitors attacked heaped pressure on the Vietnamese but failed to equalise.

In the 81^st minute, from a cross from Hồ Minh Dĩ, Đoàn Văn Hậu headed past the Malaysian goalkeeper to double the score.

After the second goal, Việt Nam took their foot off the gas, allowing Malaysia to score, narrowing the gap to 1-2 in the 90^th minute.

In extra time, Nguyễn Tiến Linh broke the offside trap to slot home and seal the result for Việt Nam.

Việt Nam’s rival in the semi-final match will be defined after the last round of Group B today.

The final will take place two days later. — VNS