Goalkeeper Dang Tuan Hung was the hero of the shootout as he saved Timor Leste’s fourth penalty low to his right before Thanh Nhan rolled home the next spot-kick to ensure Vietnam a berth in the title decider against Thailand.

Vietnam beat Timor Leste on penalties to advance to the final match of the 2022 AFF U-23 Championship.

The first half was evenly contested with few clear-cut opportunities created by both sides.

Timor Leste produced the first shot on goal after 17 minutes, with Paulo Gali blasting a long strike that hit the ground before being handled by goalkeeper Tuan Hung.

Vietnam came close to breaking the deadlock in the 35th minute, but unmarked Dinh Hai’s strike from outside the box could not beat goalie Pereira.

The Timor keeper went on to save Bao Toan’s freekick four minutes later as the two sides played to a goalless stalemate into halftime.

Trung Thanh missed out on an opener for Vietnam a few minutes before the hour mark as he ran onto a clever pass from Nguyen Hoang and sent a low left-footed shot narrowly wide of the far post.

Goalkeeper Tuan Hung rescued Vietnam in the 63rd minute by brilliant blocking Paulo Gali’s attempt in a one-on-one.

With the deadlock being unchanged, the match between two teams is forced to be decided by penalties.

Nguyen Hoang almost brought Dinh The Nam’s side off the mark late in the second half when his close-range header ended up inches over the bar.

With the deadlock remaining unchanged, the two teams entered 30 minutes of extra time, during which they produced a number of shots but again failed to score, forcing the match to be decided by penalties.

In the shootout, Vietnam succesfully converted all the five spot kicks compared to Timor Leste’s three, thus setting up a February 26 final match with Thailand, who trounced Laos 2-0 in the other semi-final. 

Vietnam aims for No.1 position at SEA Games 31

Vietnam sets a target of topping the medal tally at the 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 31), which it is going to host this year, said Deputy Director of the National Sports Administration (NSA) Tran Duc Phan.

Vietnam advance to semi-finals after narrow win over Thailand

Vietnam stormed into the semi-final round of the 2022 ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) U-23 Championship after cruising past Thailand with a solitary goal in their last group match at Prince Stadium in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on Tuesday night (Feb 22).

Vietnamese players to compete at Junior Davis Cup/Junior Billie Jean King Cup

The young Vietnamese men's and women's tennis teams on February 19 departed for Colombo, Sri Lanka to attend the qualifiers of the 2022 Junior Davis Cup and Junior Billie Jean King Cup for the Asia-Pacific region.

Vietnam off to flying start with 7-0 rout of Singapore

Vietnam enjoyed a fabulous start to the 2022 ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) U-23 Championship with a 7-0 rout of Singapore in their Group C opener at Prince Stadium in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on Saturday night (Feb 19).

Vietnam drawn in same group with regional rivals Thailand, Malaysia at AFC U23 Asian Cup

Vietnam will take on familiar rivals Thailand and Malaysia, as well as reigning champions Republic of Korea (RoK) in Group C of the 2022 AFC U23 Asian Cup, following the tournament’s finals draw in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on February 17.

Source: NDO