Nguyen Thanh Binh opens the scoring for Vietnam with a powerful close-range header. (Photo: Getty Image)   

Vietnam bid an encouraging farewell to their World Cup 2022 qualifying campaign by holding powerhouse Japan to a 1-1 draw in their last Group B match at Saitama Stadium on March 29.

The Golden Star Warriors opened the scoring thanks to Nguyen Thanh Binh’s first-half header, but could not preserve the advantage as Maya Yoshida equalised a few minutes after halftime to rescue the Samurai Blue from a home-field defeat.

The Golden Star Warriors entered the match with confidence and patiently neutralised the threats from the Japanese side.

Kaoru Mitoma left strong imprints in the opening minutes as he initiated Japan’s attack waves from the left flank, but Kubo and Haraguchi wasted the opportunities with inaccurate shots.

In the midfield, Vietnamese players actively battled for the ball, creating a lot of difficulties for the Samurai Blue.

Despite creating fewer chances, the Southeast Asian representatives went ahead in the 20th minute with a powerful close-range header by Nguyen Thanh Binh from Cong Phuong’s corner kick.

After conceding an early goal, Japan intensified pressure and created a bunch of opportunities, but was unable to finish off chances.

They came within inches of equalising in the 35th minute when Haraguchi placed a dipping shot across goalkeeper Tran Nguyen Manh but it went narrowly wide.

In the last minutes of the first half, the Samurai Blue produced constant threats in Vietnam’s penalty area but were thwarted by a combination of poor finishing and stout defending by the Golden Star Warriors.

Nine minutes after the break, Japan restored the parity with Maya Yoshida beating goalkeeper Nguyen Manh on the rebound.

Moriyasu Hajime’s side continued to dominate possession and should have added a second goal several times when attempts by quality substitutes Junya Ito, Minamino and Ao Tanaka were denied by the Vietnamese keeper.

Maya Yoshida wasted a golden chance to complete a double in the 78th minute as he shot wide in front of the empty net.

With time running out, Japan managed to find the back of the net twice, but the goals by Tanaka (70’) and Ueda (88’) were disallowed by the referee due to handball and offside fouls, respectively.

Despite facing tremendous pressure, the Golden Star Warriors fought resiliently and safeguarded their net until the final whistle.

Vietnam concluded their World Cup qualifying campaign with one win, one draw and eight losses from nine matches.

As the top two teams of Group B, Japan and Saudi Arabia have joined the top two teams of Group A, the Republic of Korea and Iran, to qualify for the FIFA World Cup 2022.

Meanwhile, Group B’s third-place team Australia will play Group A’s third-place team on June 7 to determine which team advances to the inter-confederation play-offs.

VAN TOAN