Vietnam’s Nguyen Quang Hai scores the goal against Malaysia during their Qatar 2022 World Cup qualifying match at My Dinh stadium in Hanoi October 10, 2019. — AFP pic
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 10 — Malaysia suffered its second consecutive defeat in the 2022 World Cup/2023 Asian Cup Second Qualifying Round after going down to Vietnam 0-1 in a Group G match at the My Dinh National Stadium here, tonight.
Forward, Nguyen Quang Hai emerged as the home team’s hero of the night after slotting in Que Ngoc Hai’s brilliant long pass in the 39th minute to help Vietnam secure its first win of the campaign.
Malaysia’s only dangerous move came in the 10th minute through Muhammad Syafiq Ahmad’s header from a corner kick which caused panic in Vietnam’s goal mouth.
Vietnam’s Nguyen Tuan Anh fights for the ball with Malaysia’s Mohamad Aidil Zafuan during their Qatar 2022 World Cup qualifying match at My Dinh stadium in Hanoi October 10, 2019. — AFP pic
The Golden Dragons, under South Korean’s Park Hang Seo, almost doubled their lead but Nguyen Anh Duc shot was cleared by Shahrul Mohd Saad, after goalkeeper Mohd Farizal Marlias came off his position.
Tonight’s result saw Malaysia slipping to fourth place while Vietnam climbed up to second, sharing four points with Group G leader, Thailand.
Malaysia will host Thailand on November 14 and Indonesia (November 19) at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil as the Harimau Malaya continue its quest to book a slot in the third round of the qualifiers. — Bernama