Vietnam beat UAE to top Group G in World Cup 2022 qualifiers
Vietnam defeated Group G’s favourites the United Arab Emirates (UAE) 1-0 in their match of the 2022 FIFA World Cup’s second qualifying round at the Hanoi-based My Dinh National Stadium on November 14.
Nguyen Tien Linh (in red) in action |
The first half barely saw clear-cut chances and shots from both sides.
In the 39th minute, UAE’s player Khalifa Al Hammadi received a red card for tackling Vietnam’s forward Nguyen Tien Linh.
Vietnam were granted a free-kick, however, Nguyen Quang Hai failed to open the scoreboard.
At the stroke of half-time, Tien Linh made the home crowd go wild with a right-footed strike from the edge of the box, which hit the crossbar and went in.
Entering the second half, both teams sped up the game with more chances created.
Vietnam could have doubled their lead if Quang Hai’s left-footer from the edge of the box in the 90th minute had more accuracy.
In another other match of Group G on the same day, Malaysia defeated Thailand 2-1 in their home ground.
The eight group winners and four best runners-up will qualify for the third and final round of the World Cup qualifiers.