Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung attended, cheered and congratulated the victory of coach Kim Sang-sik and his team. Victory of collective effort, individual excellence
With the advantage of playing at home and especially the encouragement of the spirit from the leaders of the Government, Ministries, departments and more than 20 thousand spectators directly present at Viet Tri Stadium to cheer, the "Golden Star Warriors" entered the match very confidently, rushing to attack from the first minutes. Meanwhile, in the opposite direction, the Thai team played cautiously, waiting for counter-attack opportunities.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh went down to the field to congratulate the Vietnamese team
In the first 15 minutes, the home team's players pressed the field and created a series of opportunities. At least 4 times the Thai goal was in a dangerous position. In the following minutes, the game was still in favor of the red team, but throughout the first half, despite many attacks, the Vietnamese players were unable to convert them into goals.
In the second half, coach Kim Sang Sik made personnel adjustments by bringing Quang Hai onto the field. At this time, the Vietnamese team's game was better, the attacks were somewhat sharper.
In the 59th minute, from a corner kick, Van Thanh headed the ball for Xuan Son to jump high and head the ball into the goal, opening the score for the Vietnamese team in the joy of the home fans.
With the goal, the home team played more excitedly and effectively when more than 10 minutes later (minute 73), the striker born in 1997 continued to shine. In this second goal, from a ball steal right in the home field, Xuan Son accelerated past 3 Thai players in the penalty area and launched a tricky left-footed shot into the goal of goalkeeper Patiwat, raising the score to 2-0.
Despite being 2 goals behind, the Thai team still played very focused and persistently in the ball disputes to find counter-attack opportunities. Especially, in the final stages of the match, they played explosively.
In the 83rd minute, the score was shortened to 1-2, when Chalermsak Aukee headed in a dangerous goal. This was also the score that remained until the end of the match, helping the Vietnamese team gain many advantages before traveling to Thailand for the second leg of the ASEAN Cup 2024 final on January 5.
Player Xuan Son had a classy performance at the AFF Cup 2024
Vietnam put all their efforts into the second leg match
After the first leg of the AFF Cup 2024 final, Quang Hai and Xuan Son showed their determination to work with the whole team to aim for victory in the upcoming final match.
Sharing with the media, Midfielder Quang Hai said: "This result is an advantage for the Vietnamese team heading towards the second leg. The winning score helps the whole team gain more confidence. We will be more determined to achieve the best and most complete result. At this time, the whole team will focus on recovering their physical strength. I think everything is within reach and we still need to try our best". Quang Hai emphasized.
As for the best player of the match - Nguyen Xuan Son said: "I feel great to score and the Vietnamese team won this difficult match. The Thai players put a lot of pressure on us in this match but we won. The Thai team has good players and so does the Vietnamese team. There is one more match, the whole team needs to stay focused towards victory".
The joy of victory of the Vietnamese players
We will focus on recovering to be in the best condition for the next match. Thank you to all the fans who have always enthusiastically cheered for the team. And I also want to thank my teammates who gave their all and did their best in this match." Striker Xuan Son added.
Recognizing the great efforts that his players made in this first leg final, coach Kim Sang-sik said: "If the players continue to promote their strengths, we will continue to have good matches. Especially today, after 27 years, we have won against Thailand at home. This is a gift for the fans at the beginning of 2025."
When asked about the tactics in this match, the Korean coach said: "As I said, we prepare for each opponent separately to have appropriate countermeasures, we are always prepared to be able to win. I noted that today's opponent is tall, so I hope the players will fight harder and more fiercely. Not only the strikers but all the players in all positions today did their job very well." According to the schedule, on January 5, the Vietnamese team will play the second leg at Rajamangala Stadium. Coach Kim admitted: "Vietnam won the first leg, but did not win completely. The result of the match will depend on the players' performance whether we can fully exploit our potential or not. We will consider the first leg as valuable experience and will continue to analyze this match to prepare for the remaining match."
According to the plan, at 9:30 a.m. on January 3, the Vietnamese team will depart for Thailand.
Ha Phuong