The Philippine Men’s National Team may have scored their first semifinal goal in the AFF Suzuki Cup, but face a challenge going to the second leg after yielding to Vietnam, 1-2, last Sunday 2 December 2018 in front of a capacity crowd at the Pana-ad Park and Football Stadium.
Patrick Reichelt, who previously scored against Singapore in the group stages, found the back of the net in the 2nd minute of first half stoppage time. Phil Younghusband found the forward free in the middle for the volleyed finish.
However, Vietnam scored in either half to claim two away goals in the 12th minute and the 48th minute from Nguyen Ahn Duc and Phan Van Duc.
Reichelt almost found the equalizer late on. Stephan Schrock’s long ball found the forward for the shot, but sent it over the bar.
Head coach Sven Goran Eriksson heaped praise on Vietnam’s performance, but the Swede insisted that the tie is not over yet despite the aggregate score.
“(Vietnam) is very good team, the best team we have played against in the Suzuki Cup,” said Eriksson. “Now 90 minutes to go on Thursday. So we go there and try to change this. I’ve seen bigger things happen. We are not out of this. We have a chance.”
The Philippines head to Vietnam for the second leg of the semifinal on Thursday 6 December 2018 at the My Dinh National Stadium in Hanoi, Vietnam. The Azkals will need to win by at least two goals to advance to the final where they will face the winner of the Thailand vs Malaysia tie.
