Dinh Bac shines, U.23 Vietnam struggles to beat Laos in the opening match with many 'strange incidents' and manual VAR checks

Although rated much higher than U.23 Laos, U.23 Vietnam had to work very hard to be able to open the 33rd SEA Games with a victory thanks to the brilliance of Dinh Bac.

On the afternoon of December 3, U.23 Vietnam entered the opening match of Group B of the men's football SEA Games 33 against U.23 Laos. This is not an unfamiliar opponent for coach Kim Sang-sik and his team, and although they were rated much higher, in reality, Van Khang and his teammates did not have an easy match as fans expected.

Shock from U.23 Laos's attack

Before the match, due to sound technical problems, the two teams had to sing the National Anthem without music.

Right from the first minutes, U.23 Vietnam chose to close in and attack quickly on both sides. The constant pressure made the Lao defense confused many times, especially in the 13th minute when Thanh Nhan jumped to shoot but the opposing goalkeeper still managed to catch it.

The pressure was maintained throughout most of the first half. The ball was mainly under the control of U.23 Vietnam, but the white team's efforts to penetrate still encountered difficulties against Laos' multi-layered defense.

Laos makes remarkable progress, U.23 Vietnam 'escaped danger' thanks to Dinh Bac

In the 26th minute, the situation changed when Khuat Van Khang crossed the ball accurately for Nguyen Dinh Bac to head, forcing Lokphathip to dive to save. However, just a few minutes later, Dinh Bac scored his first goal in a SEA Games. A sharp combination on the wing ended with a cross from Pham Minh Phuc, creating an opportunity for number 7 to tap the ball in to open the score.

Dinh Bac scored the opening goal in the first match of the first SEA Games he attended.

PHOTO: Nhat Thinh

Dinh Bac's opening goal

The lead did not help U.23 Vietnam play more confidently. Just 7 minutes later, the complacency in defense made the white team pay the price. Taking advantage of the space right in front of the goal, Laos player number 17 Khampane finished close to the goal, leaving goalkeeper Tran Trung Kien unable to react, bringing the match back to balance.

Highlight U.23 Vietnam 2-1 U.23 Laos: Dinh Bac's performance

Just a few minutes later, U.23 Laos brought the match back to the starting line.

PHOTO: Dong Nguyen Khang

In the final minutes of the first half, U.23 Vietnam pushed forward to find a goal to create momentum for the second half, but all efforts could not penetrate the opponent's defense.

Dinh Bac scored the second goal after a manual VAR check... U.23 Vietnam escaped

In the second half, U.23 Vietnam took the initiative to attack and immediately created dangerous situations, but the U.23 Laos defense remained firm.

In the 60th minute, Dinh Bac accelerated and shot low into the far corner, the ball went in neatly and the goalkeeper could only stand and watch. Initially, the referee did not recognize this goal because he determined that Quoc Viet was offside. The U.23 Vietnam players reacted, the main referee immediately ran to the sideline to talk with the assistant. A manual "VAR check" when the Vietnamese players reacted and talked with the referee made the referee later change his decision and recognized the goal for Dinh Bac.

The coaching staff reflects on the referee's initial decision not to award the goal.

PHOTO: NHAT THINH

After review, the referee decided to award the goal to Dinh Bac.

PHOTO: NHAT THINH

Dinh Bac scored a double in his SEA Games debut

PHOTO: NHAT THINH

A FIFA referee said Quoc Viet was in an offside position, but the referee recognized Dinh Bac's goal because Quoc Viet did not affect the goalkeeper's ability to play.

Vietnamese fans were once again shocked in the 80th minute when the U.23 Vietnam defense made a mistake, giving Khampane a chance to run down and face the goalkeeper. But in the decisive move, he shot hastily, the ball missed the target, missing the chance to score a double.

During the remaining time of the match, U.23 Vietnam created a number of notable opportunities but no more goals were scored. Having barely won the opening match of the 33rd SEA Games with a score of 2-1, U.23 Vietnam will need to make adjustments if they want to conquer the gold medal goal when the opponents in the next match and possibly the following rounds are certainly very formidable. This match also showed how much U.23 Laos has improved under coach Ha Hyeok-jun.

Watch SEA Games 33, side by side with the Vietnamese Sports Delegation, most fully onFPT Play, at: http://fptplay.vn

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/dinh-bac-choi-sang-u23-viet-nam-chat-vat-thang-lao-tran-mo-man-nhieu-bien-co-la-185251203165457299.htm