Vietnam on September 28 beat South Korea 5-1 in the first round of Group D at the AFC Futsal Asian Cup 2022.
| Vietnamese futsal players celebrate victory over South Korea in the first round of the AFC Futsal Asian Cup 2022 on September 28. Source: Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) |
South Korea was considered the underdog, ranking 74th worldwide, while Vietnam stood at 40th.
South Korea took the surprising lead as Shin Jong-hoon finished accurately with a volley within 22 seconds. This was also the fastest goal so far in the tournament.
Vietnam leveled just a minute later on a corner kick play when Nguyen Minh Tri forced Shin to score an own goal.
After the equalizer, Vietnam took control of the match, kept pressing intensely, and created many opportunities.
The Vietnamese futsal team scored the second goal in the 14th minute as Tran Thai Huy dribbled past two Korean players and had a powerful strike, which deflected an opponent player on its way into the net.
Vietnam extended the lead in the 16th minute on a counterattack. Nguyen Minh Tri made a good cross for Pham Duc Hoa to net the third goal for Vietnam.
South Korea pressed harder in the second half to look for goals, but the team could not find Vietnam’s net. Thus, South Korea decided to deploy the power-play tactic during the last 12 minutes of the match.
Taking advantage of a higher defensive line in South Korea, Vietnam scored two more goals to end the match at 5-1.
In the other match of Group D, Saudi Arabia overcame Japan by 2-1. The results sent Vietnam to the top of Group D.
Vietnam will face Saudi Arabia in the next match on Friday.
Vietnam’s head coach Diego Giustozzi was highly upbeat about the team’s win over South Korea and credited the opponent for a good match.
The head coach said that Vietnam defended and attacked well with or without the ball at the post-match press conference, adding that the team still needs to improve for better matches.
The match against Saudi Arabia will be a tough one, Diego said.
