Vietnam U23 brilliantly defeated Saudi Arabia U23 1-0.
"Fly like Trung Kien, shoot like Dinh Bac," the FIFA World Cup page posted a noteworthy status update after witnessing Vietnam U23 defeat Saudi Arabia U23 1-0 in the match at the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium on the evening of January 12th (Vietnam time), accompanied by images of the two best players for Vietnam U23 in the final match.
The FIFA World Cup page's attention-grabbing status update after Vietnam U23's victory over Saudi Arabia U23 (Photo: FIFA).
The praise from the FIFA World Cup homepage stems from goalkeeper Trung Kien's outstanding performance in goal for the Vietnam U23 team, with 7 saves for his team.
Meanwhile, striker Nguyen Dinh Bac continued to demonstrate his "killer" instinct by capitalizing on a rare opportunity in the second half to score the only goal of the match, helping Vietnam U23 defeat Saudi Arabia U23 by a narrow margin. In that situation, Dinh Bac dribbled at speed into the penalty area on the left wing before decisively shooting into the near corner, beating goalkeeper Hamed.
"A determined performance helped Vietnam top the group with maximum points and they will face the Group B runner-up in the quarter-finals on January 16, while a defeat would mean Saudi Arabia's elimination," the AFC website also commented after witnessing Vietnam U23's shocking victory over host Saudi Arabia U23.
Vietnam U23 defeated Saudi Arabia U23 with a well-organized playing style (Photo: AFC).
This is a match where the Vietnam U23 team holds a significant advantage thanks to their two previous victories; therefore, coach Kim Sang Sik's squad prioritizes a solid defensive style of play and waits for opportunities to counter-attack.
The "Golden Dragons'" tactics proved effective as they successively neutralized U23 Saudi Arabia's attacks throughout the first half, making the home team players anxious because a draw would have eliminated the West Asian team.
Impatience cost the home team, U23 Saudi Arabia, dearly in the second half, when Dinh Bac capitalized on a rare opportunity in the 64th minute to score the only goal of the match.
"Kim Sang-sik tried to inject new life into the Vietnamese attack at the start of the second half by bringing on two strikers, Nguyen Le Phat and Nguyen Dinh Bac, but Saudi Arabia once again created dangerous opportunities as in the first half."
Alelewai combined with Alkhaibari to create space in the penalty area in the 53rd minute, but his shot was saved by goalkeeper Trung Kien with quick reflexes. A few minutes later, the Vietnamese goalkeeper continued to block a close-range shot from Al-Kholood.
Contrary to the course of the match, Vietnam took the lead in the 64th minute after Awad Dahal lost possession, creating an opportunity for Nguyen Ngoc My to pass the ball to Dinh Bac, who burst into the penalty area and unleashed a powerful shot into Hamed Yousef's net from a tight angle.
Needing two goals to turn the tide and secure a place in the quarter-finals, Saudi Arabia pressed hard in the remaining minutes of the match but could only manage a header from Abdulrahman Alobaid, which goalkeeper Trung Kien successfully saved, helping Vietnam maintain the score and win," AFC reported on the dramatic developments of the second half match between Vietnam U23 and Saudi Arabia U23.
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Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/afc-ca-ngoi-u23-viet-nam-toan-thang-fifa-vinh-danh-dinh-bac-trung-kien-20260113031356207.htm
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