U.16 Vietnam wasted the opportunity, was held to a draw by Cambodia, faced a 'difficult situation' in the Southeast Asian tournament

After a resounding 15-0 victory over U.16 Brunei on the opening day, U.16 Vietnam competed with U.16 Cambodia in the second round of Group B of the U.16 Southeast Asia tournament. Coach Tran Minh Chien and his team were not easy opponents, as in the opening round, U.16 Cambodia came from behind to defeat U.16 Myanmar 2-1 thanks to their powerful long-range shooting.

Considered weaker, U.16 Cambodia chose a cautious approach. The young team nicknamed "Angkor Warriors" played tight defense, tackled fiercely and kept a good distance between the team, making it difficult for U.16 Vietnam.

U.16 Cambodia (blue shirt) is not easy to bully

Despite having more possession of the ball, it was not until the second half of the first half that Tran Minh Chien's students created opportunities. Thanks to skillful and skillful "detonators" like Viet Long and Thanh Binh, U.16 Vietnam skillfully passed the ball through the middle, many times breaking the defense of U.16 Cambodia but lacked decisiveness in the decisive situation.

After a goalless first half, U.16 Vietnam continued to take the initiative, attacking continuously to find a goal to break the deadlock. Then, the young Vietnamese players found a goal thanks to a relatively lucky situation. Entering the field at the beginning of the second half, Gia Bao had a good one-touch coordination with his teammates. In a face-to-face situation with U.16 Cambodia goalkeeper Mat Farib, Gia Bao did not control the ball well with his heel, but the ball then accidentally drifted right into the path of Viet Long. No. 9 of U.16 Vietnam decisively shot close to the goal, opening the score of the match.

This goal not only relieved the psychology of U.16 Vietnam, but also made the match more exciting. U.16 Cambodia had to push up their formation to attack boldly, before the "Angkor Warriors" caused a surprise in the 61st minute. From a corner kick on the right wing, Phan Vreak surpassed Thai Hoa, jumped high and headed the ball into the net of U.16 Vietnam to equalize for U.16 Cambodia.

U.16 Vietnam pressed forward after the equalizer, while U.16 Cambodia returned to defense. Coach Tran Minh Chien's team had opportunities, such as Hong Phong's dangerous long-range shot in the 73rd minute (goalkeeper Mat Farib saved).

On the other side of the front line, U.16 Cambodia also had some very sharp counter-attacks. In the 88th minute, the blue team had a lightning-fast attack to put their teammates in a 3-on-1 situation, but the striker of U.16 Cambodia missed the ball very unluckily. In the 90th minute, Thach Daro accelerated past the U.16 Vietnam center back, but instead of passing to his waiting teammate, he immediately shot the ball, sending it over the bar.

Drawing 1-1 with U.16 Cambodia, U.16 Vietnam still leads Group B with 4 points, equal to U.16 Cambodia but ranked higher due to better goal difference. However, in the final round, Coach Tran Minh Chien's students will have to face U.16 Myanmar - the team that just defeated U.16 Brunei with a score of 8-1, while U.16 Cambodia will face the bottom team U.16 Brunei.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/u16-viet-nam-phung-phi-co-hoi-bi-campuchia-cam-hoa-gap-cua-kho-o-giai-dong-nam-a-185240625212330399.htm