Vietnam beat Timor Leste on penalties to advance to the final match of the 2022 AFF U-23 Championship. (Photo: VnExpress)   

NDO – Vietnam beat Timor Leste 5-3 on penalties after a 0-0 draw in the semi-final of the 2022 AFF U-23 Championship at Morodok Techno National Stadium in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on Thursday night (Feb 24), as Thanh Nhan converted the decisive kick to take Dinh The Nam’s side through to the final match.

Goalkeeper Dang Tuan Hung was the hero of the shootout as he saved Timor Leste’s fourth penalty low to his right before Thanh Nhan rolled home the next spot-kick to ensure Vietnam a berth in the title decider against Thailand.

The first half was evenly contested with few clear-cut opportunities created by both sides.

Timor Leste produced the first shot on goal after 17 minutes, with Paulo Gali blasting a long strike that hit the ground before being handled by goalkeeper Tuan Hung.

Vietnam came close to breaking the deadlock in the 35th minute, but unmarked Dinh Hai’s strike from outside the box could not beat goalie Pereira.

The Timor keeper went on to save Bao Toan’s freekick four minutes later as the two sides played to a goalless stalemate into halftime.

Trung Thanh missed out on an opener for Vietnam a few minutes before the hour mark as he ran onto a clever pass from Nguyen Hoang and sent a low left-footed shot narrowly wide of the far post.

Goalkeeper Tuan Hung rescued Vietnam in the 63rd minute by brilliant blocking Paulo Gali’s attempt in a one-on-one.

Nguyen Hoang almost brought Dinh The Nam’s side off the mark late in the second half when his close-range header ended up inches over the bar.

With the deadlock being unchanged, the match between two teams is forced to be decided by penalties. (Photo: Webthethao)

With the deadlock remaining unchanged, the two teams entered 30 minutes of extra time, during which they produced a number of shots but again failed to score, forcing the match to be decided by penalties.

In the shootout, Vietnam succesfully converted all the five spot kicks compared to Timor Leste’s three, thus setting up a February 26 final match with Thailand, who trounced Laos 2-0 in the other semi-final.

VAN TOAN