2024 AFC Futsal Championship: Vietnam futsal team loses regrettably at the last minute

Vietnam suffered a regrettable 1-2 defeat to Uzbekistan, ending their journey at the 2024 Asian Futsal Championship.

Vietnam Futsal team concludes journey at 2024 Asian Futsal Championship. Photo: VFF

The quarter-final match against Uzbekistan is considered a big challenge for the Vietnamese futsal team. Uzbekistan has participated in the Futsal World Cup 3 times, the most recent being in 2021. They have also won the runner-up position 4 times in the Asian Futsal Championship. On the World Futsal Rankings, Uzbekistan is ranked 26th while Vietnam is ranked 39th.

In the 2018 Asian Futsal Championship, the Vietnam Futsal Team lost 1-3 to Uzbekistan. Therefore, the Uzbekistan Futsal Team is rated higher than the Vietnam Futsal Team in this match.

The two teams' performance also differed after the group stage. The Vietnamese futsal team could not convince despite finishing second in the group. Coach Diego Giustozzi's team only scored 3 goals in 3 matches and qualified for the next round only thanks to a better goal difference than Myanmar. Meanwhile, the Uzbekistan futsal team showed their dominance with 3 wins in all 3 matches. They also scored 10 goals and only conceded 6.

However, the match did not go as expected. Although Uzbekistan's futsal team dominated and had many dangerous shots, goalkeeper Ho Van Y had an excellent match, blocking many dangerous shots from Ropiev and Khamroev. The Vietnamese players played calmly and confidently, and also launched many sharp attacks.

The surprise came in the 17th minute, from a corner kick of the Vietnam futsal team, Thinh Phat in an empty position in front of the Uzbekistan goal easily shot into the opponent's net, opening the score 1-0.

The match became more exciting and interesting after Vietnam opened the score. The Vietnamese players even had a chance to widen the gap when Duc Hoa passed the ball to the sideline for Thinh Phat to escape the opponent's marking before heading the ball just inches past the Uzbekistan goal post.

In the losing position, Uzbekistan had no choice but to put pressure to find opportunities in the second half. Meanwhile, the Vietnamese players still maintained high concentration in the face of constant pressure from their opponents. The Uzbekistan players were met with the brave fighting spirit of the boys in red.

However, in the 34th minute, Uzbekistan equalized. From a corner kick, an Uzbekistan player shot the ball on the ground before reaching Ropiev Ikhtiyor. The player was close to the goal and lightly touched it with his head before finding the bottom edge of the crossbar and flying into Ho Van Y's goal.

In the final minutes of the match, Uzbekistan attacked fiercely but goalkeeper Ho Van Y continuously blocked and saved the Vietnamese futsal team. Uzbekistan's efforts finally brought a goal in the extra minutes of the second half. Juraev fired an unstoppable shot into the near corner, leaving Van Y helpless.

Vietnam suffered a regrettable 1-2 defeat to Uzbekistan, ending their journey at the 2024 Asian Futsal Championship.

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