Malaysia 0-2 Vietnam Highlights: Xuân Son's class, Patrik Lê Giang opens the door wide to the ASEAN Cup final

Xuân Son's strike, the opponent's own goal, and the crucial saves by Patrik Lê Giang propelled Vietnam to a 2-0 win against Malaysia in the semi-final first leg, clearing the way to the ASEAN Cup 2026 final.

Xuân Son's class

More than four months ago, Xuân Son scored a brace to give Vietnam a 3-1 win over Malaysia in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers. Over four months later, the Steel Blue Nam Định striker again haunted the Malaysians with a spectacular diving header, securing a 2-0 victory for Vietnam.

Lê Phạm Thành Long's long ball down the sideline was world-class. Trương Tiến Anh controlled the ball as if it were glued to his foot and delivered a perfect cross. Xuân Son's positioning and header were flawless. A textbook combination and finish from Vietnam.

Malaysia defended in numbers, man-marked tightly, and closed down spaces well, but a single moment of brilliance from Xuân Son was enough for us to celebrate. That is star quality, and Xuân Son has displayed it many times since his debut for Vietnam.

Patrik Lê Giang's mark

The overseas Vietnamese goalkeeper had a standout match with no fewer than six timely interventions to relieve pressure on his team. Chosen by coach Kim Sang Sik as Vietnam's number one goalkeeper for the 2025 ASEAN Cup, Patrik Lê Giang quickly repaid the Korean coach's trust throughout the tournament with impressive spatial awareness, confident handling with both hands and feet, and always making the right decisions on when to come out.

This was the match where Patrik Lê Giang had the most work to do since the start of the tournament, as Malaysia repeatedly caused trouble with fast-paced attacks. But the 1992-born goalkeeper always read the situation correctly and made extremely timely and precise interventions.

These proactive and decisive saves demonstrated the class and high confidence of the 1.88m tall goalkeeper. Patrik Lê Giang truly is a steel shield in front of Vietnam's goal, giving his teammates immense confidence.

His excellent form shows that coach Kim Sang Sik was absolutely right to choose him as the starting goalkeeper for Vietnam in the 2026 ASEAN Cup.

Door thrown wide open to the ASEAN Cup 2026 final

The 2-0 win on Malaysian soil puts Vietnam with one foot in the ASEAN Cup 2026 final. We will host the Malaysians at Mỹ Đình in a few days, not only with home advantage and home fans, but also with a two-goal cushion.

Things are becoming easier for coach Kim Sang Sik's players. Clearly, a 2-0 win is very different from a 1-0 win. We have created a very good advantage to both enjoy a psychological boost and comfort, and to be able to control the game in the second leg. Of course, the game is not over yet. There are still at least 90 minutes of the semi-final second leg ahead of us.

Naturally, we cannot think about the final yet. But there is no reason to hide this joy. Vietnam confidently awaits the semi-final second leg, knowing that we are still on the right track in our journey to defend the Southeast Asian championship.