Hanoi (VNA) - Vietnam topped the Group A of theASEAN Football Federation Futsal HDBank Championship after their 18-0 win overBrunei in HCM City on October 29.
With three wins, the hosts led the group and met their targetof advancing to the semi-finals. They also secured a berth in the AsianFutsal Championship final next year.
Being one of the two best teams in the region, Vietnam met with nodifficulty in setting up their domination over Brunei from thebeginning.
Brunei played defensively, but they could notstop the Vietnamese players from scoring early.
Duc Hoa opened the result with a crossing finish just 45seconds from the first whistle.
The hosts continued scoring six more goals in thefirst half by Quoc Hung, Thai Huy, Van Toan, Trong Luan, Ngo Ngoc Sonand Quoc Nam.
Brunei was under heavy pressure in the secondperiod. Vietnam made a shower of goals with 11 successful finishes.
Thai Huy and Danh Phat netted a hat-trick each. Luan and Sonadded a double to their own hat-trick, while the last one went to Xuan Du.
After the match, coach Miguel Rodrigo of Vietnam said itwas not a difficult game for his side. Players were asked to score as manygoals as possible to ensure they have the advantage of better goaldifference when vying for the top position.
The Spaniard was satisfied with theteam’s performance. The next step wouldbe to secure the top position in the group and preparefor the last-four round, he said.
Vietnam are also completing for the top position inthe group with Myanmar in the last qualifying round match at the Phu ThoGymnasium on October 30.
Rodrigo said the match against Myanmar would not be a piece of cake. Vietnamplayed Myanmar in the recent Southeast Asian Games andMyanmar have shown great progress, he noted.
On the other side, coach Yonos Yusof of Brunei said Vietnamwere the toughest rivals among the three teams thatthey had met in this tournament. It was a team of strong players.Brunei tried to defend but did not succeed, he said.
Brunei will play the last match against thePhilippines, who are at the same level, and Yusofhopes to secure a win before leaving Vietnam.
Myanmar beat Indonesia 3-2 on October 29 in a crucialtie to make the cut for the semi-finals. They have also qualified for the firsttime ever for the Asian championship.
“The game was very important. So we had to be patientand not react too quickly,” said Myanmar head coach Htay Myint onaseanfootball.org.
“The game was very close, but in the end, we were alittle lucky to win this game, especially, when Indonesia went forthe power play at the closing stage.”
Meanwhile, Indonesian head coach Vic Hermans said: “Wewere losing out in the one on one just like October 29 (against Vietnam). Thisis the price we pay when we only train for months without playing any matches.We were just lacking in the defence.”-VNA