HCMC – The Vietnamese national squad lost 0-2 to the U23 Australian squad in the second game of the 1,000th Thang Long-Hanoi Football Cup 2010 at My Dinh National Stadium in Hanoi on Wednesday while North Korea defeated Kuwait U23 1-0, securing the top spot in the four-team tournament in the earlier game.
The Vietnamese side began the game with a changed lineup after a 3-0 win over Kuwait U23 in their opener. Nguyen Dinh Luat made his debut at the tournament, replacing defender Doan Viet Cuong from the beginning.
The Australian, with height-advantage, put more attacks from the start of the game in search of a goal and their players dominated the ball possession in the first half.
The visitors also created some good chances in the first minutes while the Vietnamese defenders made many mistakes. The Australian players exploited the mistakes from defenders Vu Nhu Thanh and Nguyen Phuoc Tu as Michael Hoffman opened the score for his team in the 19th minute.
Australia U23 continuously dominated the game after the goal and James Rodney broke the offside trap before beating goalie Duong Hong Son at the near post in the 36th minute.
In the second half, coach Henrique Calisto made some key changes when Xuan Thanh made his debut, replacing Nguyen Quang Hai in the first minutes of the second half. Nguyen Trong Hoang, who scored the goal for the Vietnamese side in the opener, replaced Nguyen Viet Thang in the 69th minute.
Although the Vietnamese players had the most possession over the second half and managed to create dozens of chances, the Australian side defense resiliently held out to keep a clean sheet. Despite good ball possession, the Vietnamese forwards failed to score.
In the earlier game on Wednesday, North Korea secured the second victory after beating Kuwait U23 1-0. An Chol Hyok scored only goal for his team in the 71st minute.
With the victory, North Korea secured the top spot with six points as they earned two wins in the round-robin tournament. The eastern Asian side beat Australia U23 1-0 in the opener.
Both Vietnam and the Australian squad have three points from one win and one loss but the host team rank second thanks the goal difference. Bottom-placed Kuwait have no point from two losses.
The champions will be decided on Friday when Kuwait U23 will play their Australian counterparts at 5:00 p.m. and Vietnam take on North Korea at 7:00 p.m. in the final games. The North Korean side need a draw to bring home the cup.
Australia U23, Kuwait U23 and the North Korean national squad together with the Vietnamese national squad are competing at the 1,000th Thang Long-Hanoi Football Cup. The four teams are playing in a round-robin tournament with the team that gets the most points being declared the championship. The tournament is taking place from Monday to Friday in Hanoi.
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