Vietnam lose 1-0 to Oman in World Cup qualifier

VOV.VN - Home advantage could not help Vietnam secure a win or even a draw against stronger visitors Oman in a World Cup qualifier at Hanoi’s My Dinh National Stadium on March 24 evening.

Coach Park Hang-seo sent in newcomers after some key players had suffered from injuries or COVID-19 infection. He stuck to the 3-5-2 formation as seen in Vietnam’s win over China on February 1.

In the first 20 minutes, Vietnamese players launched attacks, bringing to bear pressure on Omani opponents and causing them to risk repelling the ball.

Eight minutes into the game, an Oman defender frantically passed the ball straight to Quang Hai who then passed the ball to Tien Linh to finish, but the ball hit a visitor’s foot and deflected off the goal.

However, they did not maintain the game for long. Omani players then reorganized the formation and began to deploy the ball coherently on both wings. In the 20th minute, Zahir Al Aghbari dribbled past Van Thanh and shot the ball wide of the post.

Eight minutes later, Vietnamese players replied with Quang Hai’s shot but he could not defeat goalkeeper Ibrahim Al Mukhaini.

The Vietnamese team continued to put pressure in the second half when Cong Phuong and Van Toan were sent in.

In the 49th minute, Cong Phuong took a corner kick to direct the ball towards the goal, forcing goalkeeper Al Mukhaini to fall and save the ball.

Vietnam suddenly conceded a goal in the 65th minute. From a teammate’s corner, Khalid Al Hajri escaped from Tan Tai’s escort and hit a very dangerous header, beating goalkeeper Nguyen Manh.

In the remaining minutes, both Vietnam and Oman carved out scoring chances by launching tit-for-tat attacks. However, no more goals were scored until Syrian referee Hanna Hattab blew the last whistle.  

Vietnam remain at the bottom of Group B, obtaining three points from nine games, while Oman finish fourth with 11 points.

Vietnamese players will take on Japan in their away match as part of the World Cup qualifiers on March 29.

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