Anh Đức

BANGKOK Vietnamese football started the year by winning the ASEAN Championship final in an emotional roller coaster ride, and ended the year with a comeback from two down to 3-2 up, bringing home the third SEA Games men's football medal.

Yotsakorn Burapha and Seksan Ratree brought joy for Thailand in Rajamangala Stadium in the first half, but a quick goal from Nguyễn Đình Bắc and an own goal from Waris Choolthong brought the game back to level terms for the Golden Star Warriors, before Nguyễn Thanh Nhàn tapped another one in to bring Việt Nam out front in extra time.

Kim Sang-sik elected to keep the same starting lineup from the semi-finals against the Philippines, keeping game changers like Nguyễn Thái Sơn, Nguyễn Thanh Nhàn and Lê Văn Thuận on the bench.

Meanwhile Thailand, after losing both the women's football and futsal tournaments at home, sought to reclaim pride in the men's football events. This is the first meeting for both generations of players, as Thailand has never met Việt Nam in the last two editions of the ASEAN U23 Championships.

The War Elephants went on an all-out attack in the early minutes, but Việt Nam managed to retain possession. Thailand's breakthrough came in the 20th minute, however, with a free kick given to the host team around 25 metres from Trần Trung Kiên's goal.

Yotsakorn Burapha, who has scored two free kicks this tournament, showed why he is the 'Thai free kick king', curling an unbelievable ball into the top corner of Trung Kiên's net and opening the score for the hosts.

A more confident Thailand piled on the pressure and almost got a second after a shot was deflected goalwards by Huỳnh Hiểu Minh, but Trung Kiên's quick reflexes saved Việt Nam. 

Thai fans did not have to wait long for that second goal, however. In the 31st minute, Seksan Ratree was found free on the counter. The winger dribbled and pulled out a vicious shot from just outside the box, and while Trung Kiên got a hand on the ball, he couldn't keep it out.

The decision to start Nguyễn Thái Quốc Cường did not pay off well for coach Kim. The South Korean subbed him off for Thái Sơn in the 37th minute, with a view to retaining the ball for longer. Việt Nam was able to keep the Thais at bay and held on to the 0-2 scoreline before the break.

After the interval, Kim brought on semi-final supersubs Văn Thuận and Thanh Nhàn in place of Lê Viktor and Khuất Văn Khang. The changes were what Việt Nam needed, and they found a way to Sorawat Phosaman's goal in the 49th minute.

Substitute Thái Sơn showed his worth with a key pass to bring Việt Nam's tournament MVP Nguyễn Đình Bắc through on goal. The team captain seemed to have disposed of Sorawat and had only an empty net, but the Thai goalkeeper brought down Bắc inside the penalty area, and the referee pointed directly to the spot.

Bắc, who won the penalty, took it decisively, shortening Thailand's lead to one goal.

From that point on, the elated Vietnamese side seemingly came back from the dead. Just 10 minutes later, Văn Thuận's shot bounced off a Thai defender and led to a corner, which Thuận also took.

The corner found Waris Choolthong, who, under pressure from Phạm Lý Đức and Hiểu Minh, clumsily tapped the ball into his own net, in a repeat of January's blunder from senior Thai player Pansa Hemviboon.

 

Thailand mentally collapsed after the equaliser. From a comfortable 2-0 in front with the game under their feet, the Thai players failed to make passes and were reduced to defending in their own half. 

Việt Nam, having reclaimed the game, had chance after chance to seal the deal in regulation time, with the clearest going to Nguyễn Xuân Bắc in the 66th minute, who was free inside the box from five metres, but his effort was stopped by Sorawat.

In the 72nd minute, Vietnamese fans gasped after Hiểu Minh's header from close range rattled the Thais' post. Both teams tried as they might, but the score was still tied in 90 minutes and the game went to extra time.

Just one day earlier, the Vietnamese women's football team underwent extra time in the final to receive a heartbreaking loss on penalties. Kim Sang-sik's men, however, clearly did not want to repeat the tragedy of their female counterparts.

In the 96th minute, three game-changing substitutes brought home the winning goal with a great team play inside the Thai half. Thái Sơn's through ball found Văn Thuận, who calmly executed a shot around the penalty spot. 

Sorawat was quick to deny the first shot, but was helpless when Thanh Nhàn went in for the rebound, completing Việt Nam's remarkable comeback.

Thailand sought to do what they could to bring the match to penalties in the remaining extra time, but the closest they could get to Trung Kiên's goal was a shot by 19-year-old Thanakrit Chotmuangpak, which went just millimetres wide. 

The Iranian referee blew the final whistle just moments after Thanakrit's shot, confirming Việt Nam's return to the top of the podium at the SEA Games, after falling short of the gold in 2023.

"We went to the dressing room and said to each other: 'Look at the stands and how the fans are cheering us on'," recalled defender Phạm Lý Đức about what happened before the miraculous comeback in the second half.

"The fans – they are our 12th player, and it's wonderful that all of these hearts were with us today," Đức added.

The victory ended Việt Nam's footballing year, as well as Kim Sang-sik's first year as Việt Nam head coach, with three regional trophies: the ASEAN Championship, the ASEAN U23 Championship and the SEA Games gold medal.

Kim and his young players hope to keep this momentum going in Saudi Arabia at the 2026 AFC U23 Asian Cup, just three weeks from today's victory. VNS