SEA Games soccer: Vietnam advance to semifinal after beating Laos 1-0

Vietnam’s Thanh Hien (22) celebrates the only goal for Vietnam, securing a narrow victory over Laos on June 4.

Vietnam narrowly defeated Laos 1-0 in a Southeast Asian (SEA) Games’ Group B match on Thursday to book a place in the semifinal.

Coach Toshiya Miura set a 4-3-3 attacking formation with four strikers — Cong Phuong, Van Toan, Phi Son and Thanh Binh — right at the beginning of the match that took place at Bishan Stadium in Singapore.

However, it was until the 66th minute that Thanh Hien scored the only goal for Vietnam after getting an easy pass from Cong Phuong.

Vietnam continued to mount pressure on Lao’s goalkeeper Vathana, who succeeded in blocking most shots during the match.

Vietnam is leading Group B with 9 points after three winning matches, including 6-0 win over Brunei and 5-1 win over Malaysia.

Also with three winning matches, Thailand ranked second to book the other Group B’s ticket to the semifinal, despite the fact that both Vietnam and Thailand still have two more group matches.

Vietnam will play Timor Leste on June 7 and Thailand three days later.

SEA Games soccer: Vietnam advance to semifinal after beating Laos 1-0 Related image(s)