The quarter-final match against Uzbekistan is considered a big challenge for the Vietnam futsal team. Uzbekistan has participated in the Futsal World Cup 3 times and the most recent time was in 2021. They also won the runner-up position 4 times in the Asian futsal finals. On the World Futsal Ranking, Uzbekistan National Team ranked 26th while Vietnam National Team ranked 39th.
In the 2018 Asian futsal tournament, Vietnam futsal team lost 1-3 to Uzbekistan. Therefore, the Uzbekistan futsal team is rated higher than the Vietnam futsal team in this confrontation.
The performance of the two teams also had a difference after the group stage. Vietnam futsal team has not been able to convince even though it finished second in this group. Coach Diego Giustozzi’s team only scored 3 goals in 3 matches and won the ticket to the next round only thanks to the difference in score compared to Myanmar. Meanwhile, the Uzbekistan futsal team showed its dominance by winning 3 matches. They also scored 10 goals and only conceded 6 times.
However, the actual match was not quite as predicted. Although the Uzbekistan futsal team dominated and had many dangerous plays, goalkeeper Ho Van Y had an excellent match, blocking many dangerous shots from Ropiev and Khamroev. Vietnamese players played calmly and firmly, and also launched many sharp attacks.
The surprise came in the 17th minute, from a corner kick from the Vietnam futsal team, Thinh Phat, in an empty position in front of Uzbekistan’s goal, easily kicked into the opponent’s net, opening the score 1-0.
The match became even more exciting and attractive after Vietnam scored the opening goal. The Vietnamese players even had a chance to widen the gap when Duc Hoa passed the ball out wide to help Thinh Phat escape the opponent’s pursuit before heading the ball just narrowly past Uzbekistan’s goal post. .
In the position of being behind, Uzbekistan had no choice but to apply pressure to find opportunities in the second half. Meanwhile, the Vietnamese players still maintained high concentration under the constant pressure of the team. competitor. Uzbekistan’s players encountered the heroic fighting spirit of the red shirt boys.
However, in the 34th minute, Uzbekistan equalized. From a corner kick, an Uzbekistan player shot the ball and hit the ground before reaching Ropiev Ikhtiyor. The player was close to the goal and lightly touched with his head before finding the bottom edge of the crossbar and flying into Ho Van Y’s goal.
In the final minutes of the match, Uzbekistan attacked vigorously, but goalkeeper Ho Van Y repeatedly blocked and saved the Vietnam futsal team. Uzbekistan’s efforts finally resulted in a goal in the stoppage time of the second half. Juraev fired an unstoppable shot into the near corner, leaving Van Y helpless.
Vietnam National Team unfortunately lost with a 1-2 result against Uzbekistan National Team, ending their journey at the 2024 Asian Futsal Championship.
