Vietnamese captain Luong Xuan Truong (in white) at the match (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam was unable to secure victory despite a 1-0 lead in afriendly against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) in Hanoi onDecember 25.
The match wasconsidered a final test for the Vietnamese squad before the upcoming Asian Cupnext month.
Coach ParkHang-seo made some changes to his tactics compared to his way at the AFF SuzukiCup that Vietnam were the champions.
Among the AFF2018 line-up, he kept only Doan Van Hau.
Many newplayers were tested such as goalkeeper Tuan Manh, defender Thanh Chung,midfielder Minh Vuong, and strikers Ngan Van Dai and Tien Linh.
At the 24thminute, captain Jong Il Gwan from the DPRK shot the ball into Vietnam’s net,but the referee flagged for offside.
Vietnameseplayers had more opportunities but failed to score a goal.
The firsthalf ended with no goals.
Some minutes intothe second half, Vietnam made two substitutions. Que Ngoc Hai replaced Van Hau,and Bui Tien Dung replaced Tuan Manh.
At the 55thminute, Cong Phuong sent the ball for Tien Linh to break the offside trap intothe 16m50 round and finish the corner to defeat goalkeeper Ri Myong Guk. Thescore was 1-0 for Vietnam.
Aftercontributing to the opening score, at the 57th minute, Cong Phuong made a quicktouch for Minh Vuong to rush down to face the goalkeeper. However, a DPRKdefender touched the ball to change its direction.
At the 63rdminute, captain Jong Il Gwan took a 20-yard free-kick but the ball went overthe bar.
At the 82ndminute, Jong Il Gwan made good use of a free kick opportunity at the edge ofthe penalty box, putting the ball over the fence into the far corner to thedisappointment of goalkeeper Bui Tien Dung.
Cong Phuongalmost scored at the last minute of the match when he was at the 16m50 round,overcoming a defender from the DPRK and shooting in the near corner. However,the ball was sent behind the goal.
No more goalswere scored during the three extra minutes of the second half.
The final resultwas 1-1.
Vietnam are in Group D of the Asian Cup in theUnited Arab Emirates with Iraq, Iran and Yemen, while the DPRK are in Group E withSaudi Arabia, Lebanon and Qatar.-VNA
VNA
