The UAE had the upper hand over Vietnam inthe first half but still failed to open the scoreboard.
In early moments of the second half, thevideo assistant referee (VAR) technology was needed to check for a penalty asAli Saleh of the UAE was tackled by Huynh Tan Sinh at the edge of the box.
The referee had pointed to the spot, butthe VAR check only led to a free kick, which Ali Saleh created trouble forVietnam but goalkeeper Bui Tien Dung punched the powerful strike out.
At the 86th minute, Vietnamese captainNguyen Quang Hai got into the box but his shot was blocked, while Nguyen TienLinh’s follow-up hit straight at the UAE’s goalie.
Vietnam were runners-up of the continentalfootball tourney two years ago. This time, they are pooled with the DemocraticPeople’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), Jordan and the UAE in the group stage.
They are scheduled to play Jordan onJanuary 13 and the DPRK three days later./.