Viet Nam will play Thailand in the final of the Southeast Asian Under-19 Football Tournament today, Sep 20, following their 2-1 semi-final victory over Malaysia in Myanmar.

In the first 30 minutes of the semi-final encounter with Malaysia, Viet Nam failed to break through their opponent's solid defence.

The turning point came in the 34th minute when Xuan Nam lofted the ball over goalkeeper Bakar's head from well outside the penalty box to make it 1-0.

However, Malaysia equalised just seven minutes later after a firm shot by Shahrul Saad was deflected by a Vietnamese defender's foot before Bin Kamaruddin converted it into a goal.

Viet Nam were clearly fresher than their Malaysian rivals after having an extra day to recuperate and they picked up the tempo in the second half, before Nam finally headed home their second in the 75th minute after receiving a perfect pass from midfielder Hung Dung.

In the other semi-final match, Thailand beat hosts Myanmar 2-1.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News