Vietnamese players celebrate after scoring a goal against Kuwait on April 17. (Source: Vietnam Football Federation) Nguyen Van Tung opened the scoring for Vietnam in the first minute of firsthalf added time but Kuwait equalised seconds before the interval with a penaltyby Salman Al-Awadi.
It took a brace from substitute Bui Vi Hao in the second half to claim thethree points for Vietnam, though the story could have been so much differentfor both sides.
In the 15th minute, a good opportunity came for Vietnam, as Vo Nguyen Hoang dribbledpast the Kuwaiti defence and crossed low from the left side. Nguyen Van Tungand Khuat Van Khang both went for the ball and crashed into each other,sustaining minor injuries to themselves in the process.
The real drama of the match happened in the 29th minute when Khang was clearlyfouled by the Kuwaiti player for stealing the ball from Ebrahim Marzouq. VARstepped in and found Marzouq stomping on Khang's thigh, and he advised refereeAbdulla Al-Marri to brandish a red card.
With the man advantage, Vietnam dominated possession and created chance afterchance. But it was only until the end of the first half that they found theirbreakthrough. In the 45th minute, Nguyen Van Truong found Tung free on the leftwing with a great through pass, and an unmarked Tung finished in style with adelicate shot into the bottom left corner of the net.
However, just after the kickoff, the Vietnamese defence let Abdul Karam throughinside the box, and tournament debutant Nguyen Ngoc Thang gave away a foul andconceded the penalty. Thang was shown red after VAR intervened and concludedthat the 22-year-old had been denied a goal-scoring opportunity.
As Al Wadhi equalised from the spot and all of Vietnam's advantages evaporatedright before the interval, forcing coach Tuấn to make three substitutions, withHao, Nguyen Minh Quang, and Nguyen Manh Hung coming on for Khang, Hoang, and Tung.
Vietnam was given a gift from Kuwait's captain Ali Marzouq, as the goalkeeperfumbled a backpass, and the ball was stolen by Hao, who put the ball into theempty net and reclaimed Vietnam’s lead in the 48th minute.
In the 55th minute, Quang had an empty net to shoot, but the striker did nottake the shot and chose to dribble for a moment, with his final shot blocked bythe Kuwaiti defence. Though his teammate scored with the rebound, the goal isdisallowed as a player was offside in the lead-up play.
As the game dragged on, Vietnam played better and were in complete controldespite being down to ten men. In the 76th minute, 2023 V-League Young Playerof the Season Nguyen Thai Son hit a great pass that found Hao free inside thebox. Though the ball was hit without power, Ali Marzouq was unable to save it,and Vietnam extended their lead.
Hoa's double sealed the 3-1 victory and a crucial three points for Vietnam inGroup D. The Golden Star Warriors now lead the group, having scored one moregoal than Uzbekistan, who won their opener 2-0 against Malaysia.
Vietnam will face Malaysia on April 20./.
VNA
