Viet Nam News HÀ NỘI – Việt Nam witnessed football history for the second time this year. The U23 football team qualified for the men’s semi-final of the Asian Games after defeating Syria 1-0 in a tense quarter-final at the Patriot Candrabhaga stadium of West Java, Indonesia on Monday night. The game was Việt Nam’s first quarter-final at the regional tournament, having beaten Bahrain 1-0 with a goal by striker Nguyễn Công Phượng in the 87th minute in the last 16. The fighting spirit and never-say-die attitude of the U23s (and the three overage players allowed in the tournament) shone against Syria, as it did during the team’s history-making run to second place at the Asian U23 Championship in China in January. In the first half, Việt Nam had several half-chances but could not break through Syria’s strong defence. Meanwhile, Syria created several dangerous situations, but were repelled by goalkeeper Bùi Tiến Dũng, who pulled out some amazing saves. In the 42nd minute, Syria had a decent opportunity but the effort flew off target, leaving the first half scoreless at the break. Twenty minutes into the second half, Việt Nam started playing with more caution, without launching any major attacks, which allowed them to stymie the Syrian aerial threat. Normal time ended with no goals scored, setting the stage for a dramatic 30 minutes of extra time. In the first period of extra time, goalkeeper Dũng was again the star man for the Vietnamese, saving a Syrian attempt on goal… [Read full story]
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