Vietnam to face Thailand in AFF Under-23 Championship after drama filled semi-finals

Thailand has easily beaten Laos 2-0 to reach the AFF Under-23 Championship Final. Vietnam also reached the final but needed extra-time and penalties to fend off plucky underdogs Timor-Leste.

So while we’ll be seeing a somewhat predictable Thailand and Vietnam final, we did get to revel in Timor-Leste having their biggest football moment in history to date. As for the Cambodian side? There lies just a story of wondering what could have been. 

To read about Timor knocking out Cambodia click here.

Thailand 2 Laos 0

Despite largely fielding an Under-19 team, Thailand still entered the tournament and the match as favourites. Laos on the other hand have been a bit of a surprise package, even if only after two bizarre matches. Laos qualified from their two team group by beating a strong Malaysian side 4-1 in a two match playoff. 

The fairytale was to end though in front of a handful of fans through goals either side of half-time by Teerasak Phoeimiphai (14) and Kroekphon Arbram (52), with Laos not putting up much of a fight against the “War Elephants”. 

Thailand now progress to their third final in a row, while Laos in their best performance to date, move on to the 3rd place play-off. 

Timor-Leste 0 Vietnam 0 (3-5 on penalties)

It is easy to forget just how large the Vietnamese diaspora in Cambodia is, until there is a sporting event of course. Literally thousands of passionate flag waving expatriate Vietnamese were on hand to cheer on their team. Timor-Leste by comparison managed a mere three flags in the stadium, as well as a few Khmer who had turned up to cheer on Timor against their “Auld Enemy”. 

Vietnam, who could only name a squad of 13 players due to a Covid outbreak, started the match in complete control and for the first 70 minutes launched barrage after barrage on the Timor goal, only to be denied by excellent defending and goalkeeping from the Timorese.

This was not to say that Timor-Leste lacked their chances though, with the team gaining a spring in their step during the final quarter. Paolo Gali in particular proved to be a menace to the Vietnamese defense. In the end though, Timor lacked that something special up-front, with the absence of suspended star player Mouzinho being extremely evident. 

When it came to extra-time Vietnam again began to pound the Timorese, but one could feel throughout the 30 minutes that the match was destined to end in a penalty shoot-out.

In the end there was to be no fairy tail end to this David vs Goliath fixture. Vietnam converted all 5 of their spot-kicks, whereas Timor’s Oliveira had his weak shot saved by Dang Tuan Hung. In the end that was enough to ensure a Vietnamese victory after 120 minutes of intense battle between the two sides.

Timor-Leste can be particularly proud of themselves, having a population of just 1.4 million, compared to Vietnam’s almost 100 million in Vietnam. Only Brunei having a smaller population in the competition.

Vietnam to face Thailand in the final with Timor-Leste up against Laos for third

For Vietnam this will be their first ever final. Thailand will be marking their 3rd final in a row, although they have not won the competition since its inauguration in 2005. 

Perhaps the more exciting match, at least from a neutral point of view, is the 3rd place play-off between Laos and Timor-Leste. Whatever the result, it will be a best finish in the competition for either side.

The 3rd place match will take place at 4pm on Saturday 26th, with the final at 7.30 pm. Both matches will be held at the Morodok Techo National Stadium as a double-header single ticket event. 

And as for Cambodia? As host nation it really should have been them that were playing against Vietnam, rather than tiny Timor-Leste. Instead we now will have an almost empty shiny new national stadium hosting matches, as well as some serious questions being asked about the future of Ankgor Warriors coach Keisuke Honda. 

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