On the evening of August 16, the Vietnamese team won 2-0 against Malaysia in the first leg of the ASEAN Cup 2026 semi-finals, thereby creating a great advantage before the rematch at My Dinh.
Xuan Son put Vietnam ahead in injury time of the first half with a header after Tien Anh's accurate cross. In the 86th minute, the gap was doubled when Faris, in an effort to cut Quang Hai's pass, sent the ball straight into his own net.
In fact, Malaysia had some times of putting pressure but could not maintain stable attacking power. Le Giang Patrik also had excellent saves to protect the away team's goal. Meanwhile, Vietnam's attack better took advantage of the opportunities and completed the important goal at Kuala Lumpur's stadium.
The 2-0 result helps the Vietnamese team take the initiative before the second leg semi-final. According to the tournament format, coach Kim Sang-sik's team will enter the final if they win, draw or even lose to Malaysia with a one-goal difference (0-1, 1-2, 2-3... ).
In case Vietnam loses by a 2-goal margin (0-2, 1-3, 2-4...), the total score of the two teams will be equal. At that time, Vietnam and Malaysia will have to decide the winner by extra time and may enter a penalty shootout if the score continues to be equal.
If the Malaysian team wins with a difference of 3 goals or more (3-0, 4-1, 5-2...), the Vietnamese team will be eliminated.
The second leg of the ASEAN Cup 2026 semi-final between Vietnam and Malaysia took place on the evening of August 19th at My Dinh Stadium.
