AFF 2022 Final – Thailand 1-0 Vietnam
Theerathon Bunmathan scored a stunning strike to beat Vietnam in the return leg of AFF 2022 final in Bangkok.
Captain Theerathon Bunmathan scored the only goal of the game as Thailand edged Vietnam 1-0 in the second leg of the AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2022 final at Thammasat Stadium.
With the aggregate 3-2 scoreline, Thailand lifted the Southeast Asian title for the 7th time – a record that will be almost impossible to beat in the next 10 years!
It’s worth noting that the victory was witness by FIFA FIFA president Gianni Infantino who was watching from the stands. What a day for Alexander Polking who earned his second successive AFF title as Thailand head coach, at their own ground.
Highlights – AFF 2022 Final – Thailand 1-0 Vietnam
The first leg ended in Hanoi by 2-2 had already given Thailand slight advantage ahead of the return trip to their soil in Bangkok by the away goals rule.
It was no surprise when both sides rest their main men, veteran striker Teerasil Dangda once again was absent for the War Elephants after picking up a knock during training.
Meanwhile talisman Nguyen Quang Hai dropped to the Vietnam bench in one of the four changes made by Park from the first leg in Hanoi, the current Pau FC star did not live up to expectations during the firs leg anyway.
Vietnam tried to fight the way back for a third title of the regional tournament, but Park Hang-Seo’s men could not create anything significant as Thai formed a solid defensive formation.
Bui Hoang Vietnam showed sign of nervous only five minutes after the kick-off with the centre-back’s mistake almost gifting Adisak Kraisorn a goal, however, the former Muangthong United striker failed to make the visitors pay.
Golden Star Warriors also got their rare moment when Nguyen Tien Linh tried an overhead kick in front of Thailand’s goal but it was no where near a scoring chance.
Patiently waited, the host got the moment in the 24th minute, when a string of passes created space for captain Theerathon to approach and fire a rocket by his supposedly week foot (right) and landed the ball in to the bottom corner as Thails led by 1-0.
The lead helped Polking’s men even better while Vietnam looked to turn things around but seemed to struggle.
Thailand shut Vietnam out with relative ease as Korean head coach Park Hang-seo’s hopes of lifting the ASEAN title on his final outing with the Golden Star Warriors evaporated.
The victory was well-deserved for the War Elephants, who were without most of their main stars, still showed what a dominant side they have always been in the AFF Cup.
Record for Thailand
The War Elephants, who were the inaugural champions in 1996, have now added six more to their trophy cabinet, including four of the last five editions, to assert their dominance in Southeast Asian football.
Just over a year after Thailand lifted a 6th AFF Championship title at the coronavirus-delayed 2020 edition of Southeast Asia’s premier international tournament, a record-extending 7th crown arrived on Monday.
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