U.23 Laos and Cambodia hold each other back in the opening match of the Southeast Asian tournament: Waiting to meet Vietnam

U.23 Laos played impressively

Although rated as underdogs compared to U.23 Cambodia, the U.23 Laos players with their resilient fighting spirit maintained their position in the match, effectively blocking the opponent's attacks. Not only that, the team from the land of a million elephants also created a big surprise when they opened the score in the 18th minute by Phousomboun Panyavong. Receiving a favorable pass from his teammate, Phousomboun Panyavong seized the opportunity with an accurate finish, bringing joy to Lao fans.

U.23 Lào và Campuchia kìm chân nhau ở trận ra quân giải Đông Nam Á: Chờ gặp Việt Nam- Ảnh 1. — U.23 Laos created a surprise when they had a good match against U.23 Cambodia in the U.23 Southeast Asian tournament.

After conceding the goal, the U.23 Cambodian players rushed to attack, controlling the ball and creating many opportunities but failing to capitalize on them. The most regrettable thing was Davit Chanvibol's header that missed the goal by a hair's breadth at the end of the first half. Being forced to defend to protect their results by their opponents, the U.23 Laos team also had some quick and sharp attacks. If Lim Lucca had successfully capitalized on the opportunity in the last minute of injury time of the first half, the U.23 Laos team would have increased the goal difference against their opponents.

The attacking pressure continued to be created by the U.23 Cambodia team right at the beginning of the second half, causing the U.23 Laos team's defense to continuously falter after Hav Soknet and his teammates' shots. The equalizer 1-1 also came to the U.23 Cambodia team in the 57th minute when midfielder Phat Sokha skillfully dribbled the ball and then unleashed a beautiful, dangerous shot that left the U.23 Laos team's goalkeeper rooted to the spot.

The U.23 Laos team and especially the U.23 Cambodia team wasted their chances in the remaining time of the match and had to accept a 1-1 draw. With the draw in the opening match of Group B, the chance of winning a ticket to the semi-finals of the U.23 Southeast Asian tournament for both U.23 Cambodia and U.23 Laos became fragile because the two teams still had to face the strongest team in this group, U.23 Vietnam, so it was difficult to win to compete for the first or second place in the group with good results. On July 19, U.23 Laos will face U.23 Vietnam while U.23 Cambodia will meet U.23 Vietnam in the final match on July 22.

Laos U.23 squad: