Striker Nguyen Xuan Son was sent onto the field by coach Kim Sang-sik at the beginning of the second half, in the context of many difficulties for the Vietnamese team and could not score after the first 45 minutes.
The turning point of the match appeared when a Lao player touched the ball in the penalty area. On the penalty spot, Xuan Son made no mistake to open the score for the away team. In the last minute of extra time, Tuan Hai also scored to help the Vietnamese team win 2-0.
Speaking after the match, Xuan Son said: "We started quite difficultly, could not keep the ball well. The whole team must try to improve this in the next match. Anyway, these are still 3 important points. Sometimes the team doesn't play well, but winning is still the most important thing."
When asked about his feelings after the goal on his return to the pitch, the striker born in 1997 shared: "It's great because this is a match after nearly a year of injury. Before that, people had a lot of support and encouragement during my treatment. Therefore, this is the result of all of us.
I don't want to talk about myself at the moment. The most important thing is that the team won. The goal was just as wonderful as I expected today."
Xuan Son added: "When awarded a penalty, we asked Hoang Duc and Quang Hai if they would do it or not. Everyone gave me the first goal in nearly a year".
With this victory, the Vietnamese team continued to rank second in Group F of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers. Coach Kim Sang-sik and his team are 3 points behind Malaysia and will have a decisive match to compete for a ticket to the next round in March next year.
