How did the Vietnam national team defeat Malaysia in the first leg of the ASEAN Cup 2026 semifinals?

Despite not overpowering the game or having high ball possession, Vietnam achieved a convincing win against the home team Malaysia in the ASEAN Cup 2026 semifinal first leg.

Facing Malaysia's disciplined defensive play with numbers and aggressive pressing, we encountered many difficulties in deploying our preferred style on an unfamiliar pitch.

However, Vietnam still knew how to win thanks to the talent of goalkeeper Patrik Lê Giang, their ability to seize opportunities, control the midfield, and exploit spaces in the opponent's half through quick, few-touch combinations and long balls.

While goalkeeper Patrik Lê Giang became a solid wall in defense with precise and timely interventions to relieve danger, his teammates up front also did their job well.

We had 12 shots, 5 on target, and scored 2 goals. Before the opponent "gifted" us with an own goal, Vietnam had already created several dangerous situations against Malaysia's goal through long balls, quick transitions, and few-touch plays by the players.

The opening goal by Xuan Son exemplified the perfect coordination and few-touch accuracy of the white-shirted team.

Thanh Long sent a long pass to the wing. Truong Tien Anh controlled it perfectly with his first touch and crossed for Xuan Son to head home. Just one pass from Thanh Long brought Vietnam close to Malaysia's penalty area without having to go through many short combinations, which were difficult to execute on the unfamiliar pitch and against the opponent's packed defense.

In another situation, right at the start of the second half, we continuously threatened Malaysia's goal with two quick shots from Tai Loc and then Xuan Son, in a move involving four white-shirted players and initiated by a long diagonal pass from Bui Hoang Viet Anh.

Xuan Son and Dinh Bac also had one-touch shots that threatened Malaysia's goal. Fast, few-touch ball handling was the choice emphasized by coach Kim Sang Sik to unlock Malaysia's defense in this match, and his players fulfilled their mission.

A hard-fought but thoroughly convincing victory for the "Golden Star Warriors" to build a big advantage ahead of the ASEAN Cup 2026 semifinal return leg against the Malaysians.