Vietnam, the reigning champions, secured a 2-0 victory against Malaysia in the first leg of their ASEAN Championship semi-final held in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday. This result gives Vietnam a significant edge before the second leg scheduled in Hanoi on Wednesday.
Brazilian-born striker Nguyen Xuan Son, also known as Rafaelson, opened the scoring with an impressive diving header during first-half stoppage time, five minutes before the break. This goal came after Vietnam successfully resisted early pressure from Malaysia’s team, coached by Tan Cheng Hoe.
In a notable moment around the 60th minute, Vietnam was initially handed a setback when goalkeeper Patrik Le Giang received a red card for handling the ball outside the penalty area. However, referee Rustam Lutfullin overturned the decision after consulting the pitch-side monitor, allowing Le Giang to remain on the field.
Vietnam extended their lead in the 84th minute when Malaysian left-back Faris Danish inadvertently scored an own goal, sending the ball past his goalkeeper Azri Ghani. Despite Faris’s attempt to redeem himself in the final moments, Le Giang made a spectacular save to deny a goal-bound shot.
The winner of this two-legged semi-final will face either Thailand or Singapore in the final. Thailand currently leads their semi-final tie 3-1 after winning the first leg on Saturday, with the second leg set for Tuesday in Bangkok.
The final of the ASEAN Championship is scheduled to be played over two legs on August 22 and 26, with the home-and-away format determining the champion.
