2024 AFC Futsal Championship: Unfinished World Cup dream

The regrettable loss to the Kyrgyzstan Futsal team has left the Vietnamese Futsal team's dream of participating in the Futsal World Cup for the third consecutive time unfulfilled.

Vietnam futsal team

Entering the match with the determination to win, the Vietnamese Futsal team tried to realize their goal with 2 threatening moves on the opponent's goal, however Nguyen Anh Duy and Chau Doan Phat failed to finish.

In the 8th minute, from a poor clearance by Thinh Phat, the Kyrgyzstan team counterattacked effectively and Alimov defeated goalkeeper Ho Van Y, putting the home team ahead.

In the 13th minute, the Vietnamese team equalized after a powerful kick by Manh Dung. Thanks to this goal, the players' spirits rose. At the end of the first half, the Vietnamese team almost raised the score to 2-1. Tran Thai Huy passed the ball with class, "setting the table" for Minh Quang, but this player did not finish well.

After the break, the Vietnamese team rushed forward to threaten the Kyrgyzstan goal. However, the attack continued to be unsuccessful and the first half scenario was repeated.

In the 24th minute, Makhmadaminov passed Thai Huy and fired a classy shot to raise the score to 2-1 for the home team. With nothing left to lose, the Vietnamese team pushed up their attack formation. In the last 5 minutes of the match, coach Diego Giustozzi applied the power-play tactic, letting his players play with a 5-man formation. The result came in the 38th minute, from a pass from Chu Van Tien, Manh Dung scored an equalizer for the Vietnamese team, 2-2.

Hoping to continue their winning streak, the Vietnamese team continued their power-play. However, this unintentionally caused the “Golden Star Warriors” to be hit by a counter-attack. In the 39th minute, Anh Duy’s poor touch gave the Kyrgyzstan team an opportunity to counter-attack. Talaibekov fired a shot to raise the score to 3-2 against the Vietnamese team.

Things became even more bitter for Vietnam Futsal when, at the last minute, Minh Quang's shot hit the Kyrgyzstan goal post, ending any hope of equalizing and sending the match into extra time.

Losing 2-3 in the first play-off round, Vietnam Futsal did not qualify to continue at the 2024 AFC Futsal Championship. This also means that coach Diego Giustozzi and his team cannot realize their dream of participating in the Futsal World Cup for the third consecutive time.

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