Vietnam clinched their AFC U23 Asian Cup quarter-final spot with a hard-fought 1-0 win against hosts Saudi Arabia in their final Group A tie last night. Jordan punched their ticket into the quarter-finals, joining Vietnam, after defeating Kyrgyz Republic 1-0 in their Group A tie.
A determined display saw Vietnam top the group with maximum points and they will face the Group B runners-up in Friday’s last eight tie while defeat meant elimination for Saudi Arabia.
Knowing anything but a win would see them exiting the competition, Saudi Arabia made a lively start with Musab Aljuwayr and Abdulaziz Alelewai pulling the strings but without being able to test Vietnam custodian Tran Trung Kien in the opening 20 minutes.
Good work from Majed Abdullah to hold up the ball in the 27th minute allowed Alelewai the time to find Aljuwayr in the box but the Saudi captain put his effort well wide.
Alelewai then teed up the marauding Salem Alnajdi for a fierce strike seven minutes later that needed Tran’s intervention as Saudi Arabia continued to build up the pressure on Vietnam.
Saudi Arabia went closer two minutes before the break when Aljuwayr whipped in a cross which Thamer Alkhaibari nodded past Tran but unluckily for the forward, the ball bounced off the post.
Kim Sang-sik tried to breathe new life into his Vietnam attack at the start of the second half by sending on forwards Nguyen Le Phat and Nguyen Dinh Bac but it was Saudi Arabia who went close again.
Alelewai exchanged passes with Alkhaibari to burst into space in the box in the 53rd minute but his curling attempt was saved by the quick reflexes of Tran, with the Vietnam goalkeeper denying the Al-Kholood player from close range minutes later.
Against the run of play, Vietnam took the lead in the 64th minute after Awad Dahal lost the ball which saw Nguyen Ngoc My then relaying it to Dinh Bac who surged into the box and fired home past Hamed Yousef from an acute angle.
Needing two goals to overturn the tie and take their last eight spot, Saudi Arabia pushed hard in the remainder of the match but could only produce a Abdulrahman Alobaid header which Tran saved as Vietnam held firm to take the win.
Ali Al Azaizeh’s first half strike secured Jordan the victory as they finished on six points, three behind group winners Vietnam.
Jordan made three changes from the side that defeated Saudi Arabia 3-2 while Kyrgyz Republic made five, with Aziret Ysmanaliev stepping in goal for Kurmanbek Nurlanbekov, who had started the previous two matches.
Kyrgyz Republic sounded the alarm bells in the eighth minute when Marlen Murzakhmatov gained possession at the top of the area and squeezed a shot through a packed box, only to see the ball strike the right post.
Jordan came knocking on Kyrgyz Republic’s door in the 14th minute when a mistake by Khristiyan Brauzman allowed Odeh Fakhoury space, but his effort was comfortably saved by Ysmanaliev.
Both sides continued to press with Yryskeldi Madanov coming close in the 25th minute when his shot from above the area missed the left post, while Azaizeh – who starred with two goals against Saudi Arabia, drilled his effort wide at the other end.
The Central Asian side, however, were left stunned eight minutes later when Anas Al Khab wriggled past his marker on the right before sending a pin-point cross for Azaizeh to power home his header past Ysmanaliev.
Jordan kept their foot on the pedal with Fakhoury dispossessing Aitenir Balbakov to go clear on goal in the 51st minute but Ysmanaliev was quick to come out of his box to smother the danger.
Jordan were denied a second seven minutes later when Ysmanaliev spilled his save inside the box but recovered quickly to block Al Khab’s volley on the follow-up.
The West Asian side comfortably stayed in control for the remainder of the half to seal the win and a quarter-final clash against defending champions Japan.
