Overcoming Nepal, Vietnam National Team rekindles hope

The 3-1 victory over Nepal in the first leg of the 2027 Asian Cup Qualifiers on the evening of October 9 rekindled Vietnam's hope of advancing.

The performance of the Vietnam team in this match was not too convincing but was still enough for coach Kim Sang Sik's team to win. In the first half, the Vietnam team controlled the ball for more than 69% of the time, launched 10 shots (5 times more than the Nepal team), of which 6 times the ball hit the goal.

Coach Kim Sang Sik's players made 320 passes with a success rate of 89% (the figures for Nepal were 142 and 64% respectively). The above figures demonstrate the superiority that Vietnam maintained over Nepal in the first half and if they had been luckier, the players in red would have scored more than one goal.

Vietnam national team (red shirt) and Nepal national team in the match on the evening of October 9.

Another notable point is that the opening goal also came to the Vietnam team when the match had just entered the 10th minute. Starting from a combination on the right wing, Truong Tien Anh hung the ball into the penalty area for Tien Linh to finish into the net of Nepal. Just 1 minute later, the number 22 of the Vietnam team almost scored a double in the first half if the goalkeeper Kiran Limbu of the Nepal team had not been so excellent in the situation of facing the striker of the Becamex Binh Duong Club.

When the situation on the field was supporting the Vietnamese team, the home team's net suddenly shook. From a set piece situation on the left wing of the Nepal team, the ball was hung into the penalty area of ​​the Vietnamese team, Duy Manh could not keep a tight hold of Sanish Shrestha so the number 3 of the away team jumped high and headed the ball into Van Lam's net.

Without the strongest force, Vietnam National Team still maintained a superior position against Nepal National Team.

That goal could be considered an "accident" for the Vietnamese defense because after that, coach Kim Sang Sik's students continued to maintain a superior game. In addition to the talent of goalkeeper Kiran Limbu, only luck helped Nepal not concede a second goal in the first half.

The biggest turning point of this match was probably the situation at the end of the first half when Laken Limbu of Nepal received a red card for intentionally pulling down Hai Long right in front of the penalty area. Playing with one less player, Nepal faced many difficulties, especially in the second half when their physical strength was clearly reduced. That was the main reason why Vietnam scored two goals in a row after the break.

The red team dominated the field for most of the match.

A notable point is that both of Vietnam's goals after the break followed the same scenario of rebound shots. In the goal to increase the score to 2-1, goalkeeper Kiran Limbu reacted promptly to push the ball away from a set piece situation, but the Nepalese goalkeeper was completely helpless with Xuan Manh's rebound shot. In the goal to increase the score to 3-1 5 minutes later, Hoang Duc also made it impossible for the Nepalese goalkeeper to hold the ball, creating an opportunity for Van Vi to rush in and shoot the rebound into a goal.

Tien Linh was the one who scored the opening goal in the first half.

The 3-1 score was maintained until the end of the official match time. The 3-1 victory over Nepal, although not too satisfying, helped the Vietnamese team somewhat "rekindle hope" in the race for a ticket to the next round of the 2027 Asian Cup Qualifiers. Coach Kim Sang Sik's team is currently ranked 2nd in Group F with 6 points (after 3 matches), right behind the Malaysian team. The "Tigers" have 9 absolute points after 3 consecutive victories.

Source: https://cand.com.vn/the-thao/vuot-qua-nepal-dt-viet-nam-thap-lai-hy-vong-i784129/