Thais beat Vietnam in ASEAN Futsal

As the minnows, Vietnamese players felt free to kick off their game and created a number of chances which however were not converted into an opening goal.

Among their opportunities was a shot by Pham Duc Hoa in the 13th minute but it was saved.

Vietnam, which started without Ngo Dinh Thuan and No 1 keeper Phung Trong Luan, who were both suspended for this game, were all over their rivals and restricted their movements.

As the defending champion and the title favourite Thailand had no difficulty in dominating a rival which was much lower in the world rankings.

Thailand nearly had a goal near the first half but substitute goalie Vu Xuan Du managed to sneak in and clear the ball just as it was about the roll over the line. Suphawut Thueanklang waltzed past a defender and slipped the ball past the onrushing keeper, only to watch it being knocked away by Du.

The hosts turned up the heat in the second half to deliver a stunning performance in front of a capacity crowd of 12,000 excited fans at the Bangkok Arena.

They slowly unravelled the Vietnamese defence and eventually opened the account much to the delight of their fans.

Jirawat Sornwichian pounced on a defensive error to score in the 29th mark. A minute later, Nattavut Madyalan blasted Thailand further ahead.

Suphawut destroyed the Vietnamese defenders and their spirits with two more goals.

A few minutes later, Thailand had two more goals.

The 10-time champions Thailand will either face Australia in the final while Viet Nam will vie for the bronze medal against Malaysia tomorrow night.

All four teams have won their tickets to the final round of the Asian Football Confederation Futsal Championship 2016 in Uzbekistan next February.