Anh Đức

JAKARTA — Việt Nam ended their 2026 FIFA ASEAN Cup journey with a 1-0 loss to Malaysia in the third-place playoff match on Monday.

A single goal from Scotland-born striker Fergus Tierney was enough to bring the bronze medal home to Harimau Malaya.

The defeat marked coach Kim Sang-sik's fourth during his tenure and Việt Nam's first recognised loss to Malaysia since 2014.

Fourteen shots were made towards goal for Việt Nam, but none of them were converted to at least bring the match back on level terms.

Malaysia was having perhaps a great tournament in terms of defence, having conceded none throughout the tournament, and only placed second in their group on goal difference.

Việt Nam, on the other hand, were plagued with injuries and an immense drop in form for key players such as Nguyễn Xuân Son and Nguyễn Hoàng Đức after their 2026 ASEAN Championship win just a month ago.

Yet the Golden Star Warriors still stayed true to their playstyle that have garnered them two consecutive ASEAN Championships. The team played positively from the get go, creating chances after chances in the first five minutes.

The men in red switched to a more defensive counter-attack game after the 20th minute, which led to more chances for Malaysia.

In the 35th minute, naturalised player Bergson gave the Vietnamese fans a scare, after a misplaced pass from Hoàng Đức was intercepted by him. The Brazilian-born player pulled off a shot from just outside the box that was saved by Patrik Lê Giang.

Việt Nam seemed to have a great chance to open the score before the break in the 43rd minute, but Nguyễn Hai Long's free kick curled straight at keeper Syihan Hazmi, who smiled and wagged his fingers afterwards.

After the break, both teams went tit-for-tat and both coaches made substitutions in the attacking front, with Malaysia bringing on Fergus Tierney while Việt Nam subbed in Nguyễn Đình Bắc.

Tierney was perhaps the game-changing sub, as he scored right in his first touch of the game in the 62nd minute. Receiving the ball from Manuel Hidalgo with his back turned against the goal, Tierney performed a great turn and shot that rocketed into the bottom corner of Lê Giang Patrik's goal.

Việt Nam seemed to have a chance at the equaliser when Lê Văn Đô went down inside Malaysia's penalty area. Referee Ko Hyung-jin pointed to the spot but VAR prompted the official to reassess the situation. Replays later showed that defender Afiff Haiqal's tackle was legal and the penalty was cancelled.

As the game went on, Việt Nam kept on shooting the ball towards Hazmi's goal, but none of the shots had enough quality to even the score, and the match ended 1-0 to Malaysia.

"I take full responsibility for this result," said Kim after the match.

"Now it's time to look forward to 2027. We must do better at the Asian Cup. And to do that the team must learn starting from now on," he added.

Việt Nam's next official matches will be at the 2027 AFC Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia in January, in a tough group with the United Arab Emirates, South Korea and Yemen. — VNS