On Malaysia's field, the Vietnamese team experienced a nightmare 90 minutes. The team had to continuously resist the fierce attacks of the opponent. The resistance of the Vietnamese team, especially the midfield, was extremely weak. This contributed to the team of coach Kim Sang-sik continuously receiving goals in the second half and leaving with a 0-4 loss, the heaviest in the history of confrontations with Malaysia.
This defeat also significantly narrowed the door to the final round for Vietnam. If the reigning Southeast Asian champion lost to a much stronger opponent, the runner-up Thailand disappointed when they fell to a much weaker opponent. With a position of 146 on the FIFA rankings and no naturalization, Turkmenistan was underestimated before the match. The only advantage they had over Thailand was probably the artificial turf.
But when entering the field, it became the biggest advantage, preventing Thailand from fully exploiting its strength, while helping Turkmenistan continuously punish the opponent's mistakes. In the first minute, the Central Asian representative opened the score after taking advantage of Titov's mistake and finishing in a one-on-one situation with the goalkeeper. In the 35th minute, Thailand equalized but they were immediately restored the lead by their opponent 2 minutes later.
In the second half, fans witnessed Thailand's weak and disconnected play. They struggled on the artificial pitch, often mishandling simple moves. That was the reason why Thailand conceded the third goal in the 66th minute, officially leaving with a 1-3 defeat. This defeat also significantly narrowed Thailand's chances of advancing to the final round. In the second leg, they must defeat Turkmenistan with a margin of 3-0 or more.
Interestingly, on the day the champions and runners-up suffered heavy defeats, the rest of Southeast Asia exploded. Singapore, Laos, Myanmar and even the two weakest opponents, Brunei and Timor Leste, all won. The only team to draw was the Philippines, but the result was still a welcome one as they held the stronger team to a draw.
Asian Cup 2027 qualifying results of Southeast Asian teams
Timor Leste 1-0 Maldives
Myanmar 1-0 Pakistan
Philippines 2-2 Tajikistan
Laos 2-1 Nepal
Brunei 2-1 Bhutan
Bangladesh 1-2 Singapore
Malaysia 4-0 Vietnam
Turkmenistan 3-1 Thailand
Dang Lai
Source: https://tienphong.vn/ket-qua-vong-loai-asian-cup-2027-ca-dong-nam-a-deu-vui-tru-viet-nam-va-thai-lan-post1750115.tpo
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