Vietnam kept their hopes of a place in the third-round qualifiers of the FIFA World Cup 2026 alive when they edged ASEAN neighbours Philippines 3-2 tonight at the My Dinh National Stadium.
Following a first-half deadlock in the Group F clash, it was the visiting Philippines side that took the lead in the 62nd minute when Patrick Reichelt picked up the cross from Alex Monis before slipping the ball past keeper Dang Van Lam.
But the lead lasted for just three minutes when Vietnam equalised through Nguyen Tien Linh’s close-range finish.
Tien Linh’s 76th minute header gave Vietnam the lead for the first time before the Philippines drew level with just two minutes left on the clock off Kevin Ingreso’s volley.
However, it was Vietnam who would have the final say in the game when Pham Tuan Hai scored off the rebound in injury time.
In the meantime, close rivals Indonesia fell to a 2-0 loss to Iraq at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta.
The arrival of young star Ali Jasim into the second half proved pivotal for the Iraqis when he earned a penalty that was converted by Aymen Hussein in the 54th minute.
Ali then finished off a move deep in injury time to give already qualified Iraq the full points on the road.
The final round of matches in Group F will see Indonesia again playing at home to the Philippines on Tuesday as Vietnam take on Iraq in Basra.
FULLTIME RESULTS
Vietnam 3-2 Philippines
Indonesia 0-2 Iraq
Bangladesh 0-2 Australia
Singapore 0-7 South Korea
China 1-1 Thailand
Myanmar 0-5 Japan
Kyrgyzstan 1-1 Malaysia
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