Vietnam defeat Indonesia 2-0 to advance to AFF Cup 2022 final. (Photo: VNA) Right in the third minute of the first half, a long pass from the defence found striker Nguyen Tien Linh, who timed it right to volley in and scored the early goal for Vietnam.
In the 10th minute, another long pass found Tien Linh, but this time he was offside.
Two minutes later, defender Doan Van Hau got a header from Nguyen Hoang Duc's free kick, but it went over the bar.
After conceding early, Indonesia couldn't play heavy on defense anymore. They had to push forward and that gave Vietnam more space for counter-attacks.
In the 24th minute, Indonesia got their most relevant chance so far when Dendy faced goalkeeper Dang Van Lam inside the box. However, defender Que Ngoc Hai intercepted in time and Dendy fell down. He asked for a penalty, but the referee said no. Players on both teams started to argue. Defender Bui Tien Dung received a yellow card.
In the 29th minute, Van Hau almost scored from a free kick as he bent it to the top corner and only lacked a bit of accuracy.
Just one minute later, Pham Tuan Hai had a chance to finish, but didn't have enough power to cause difficulty for the Indonesian keeper.
The players got into a heated situation again after two Vietnamese players were fouled consecutively. Coach Park Hang-seo went into the field in frustration as he couldn't keep his cool. Indonesia have had many hard tackles on Vietnam players since the start of the game. Asnawi Bahar got a yellow.
In the 38th minute, Van Hau got a yellow for fouling Asnawi, a payback for the previous tackle.
Just two minutes into the second half, Van Hau made a long pass that found Tuan Hai, who tried to get a shot but it was blocked by Jordi Amat. Vietnam gained a corner. And from that corner, captain Do Hung Dung's pass found Tien Linh again as he had an unstoppable header to double the lead for Vietnam.
After conceding the second goal, Indonesia got nothing to lose. The visitors are putting more pressure to find a goal back. They also made two substitutions to increase firepower.
In the 58th minute, Van Hau's long pass found Tuan Hai again. This time his shot was blocked by goalkeeper Nadeo.
Three minutes later, a corner was delivered directly to Nguyen Quang Hai, who got a great volley from outside the box and it almost turned into a stunning goal.
In the 64th minute, Indonesia's Marcelino tried to pass the ball inside the box but keeper Van Lam easily caught it.
Three minutes later, it was Van Lam again with an accurate catch. He had always got the situation under control in this game.
In the 89th minute, Quang Hai dribbled past two players before finishing toward the right corner with his left foot, but Nadeo got his fingertips on the ball.
That finish was also Hai's last shot as he was subbed out for Nguyen Van Toan right after that. The game had five additional minutes but Indonesia had no chance to score a goal.
In the first leg of the semifinal in Jakarta, Vietnam was held a 0-0 draw by hosts Indonesia.
With the 2-0 win at their home playground, Vietnam advanced to the final of the AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2022, where they will play against the winners of another semifinal between Thailand and Malaysia./.
VNA
