The final decisive day in Group B of men’s football here at KL2017 saw Thailand and Indonesia making the cut for the semi-finals of the meet which will be played out in two days.
With three teams – Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam – having the chance to make the next round, it was a cracker of an afternoon as all across the region fans eagerly waited for the outcome of the final round of games.
But in the end, Thailand had more of the big match temperament to beat Vietnam 3-0 while Indonesia had the easier ride of beating Cambodia 2-0 to make the cut.
The Thais, who had been unimpressive in the earlier matches, finally decided to show up today as they took full control of the game.
And while Vietnam tried to resist for long period, the Thais finally clinched the opener just before the break through Phitiwat Sookjitthummakul.
With Thailand’s second goal coming in just seven minutes after the restart off Picha Au-Tra, the chance for a place into the next round is fast slipping for Vietnam as they needed either an outright win or at least a draw with the hope that Indonesia would falter in the other tie.
But with Thailand playing perhaps their best game of the meet thus far, captain Chenrop Sampaodi made sure of the win with the third goal of the game in the 68th minute.
In the meantime, Indonesia nailed two late goals in the second half for the win and their place in the semi-finals.
Ezra Harm Ruud Walian capitalized on a defensive mistake to score for Indonesia in the 56th minute as Febri Hariyadi then added the second goal 12 minutes later.
In the other group match that was played at the Stadium Universiti Malaya, two goals from Javier Augustine Gayoso gave the Philippines a hard fought 2-1 win over Timor Leste.
GROUP A FINAL STANDINGS (as at 23 August 2017)
| No | Team | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS |
| 1 | MALAYSIA | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 12 |
| 2 | MYANMAR | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 4 | 8 | 9 |
| 3 | SINGAPORE | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 6 |
| 4 | LAOS | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 8 | -3 | 3 |
| 5 | BRUNEI DS | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 12 | -11 | 0 |
- Teams in bold qualify for semi-finals
GROUP B FINAL STANDINGS (as at 24 August 2017)
| No | Team | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS |
| 1 | THAILAND | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 9 | 13 |
| 2 | INDONESIA | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 11 |
| 3 | VIETNAM | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 4 | 8 | 10 |
| 4 | PHILIPPINES | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 10 | -6 | 6 |
| 5 | TIMOR LESTE | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 8 | -6 | 3 |
| 6 | CAMBODIA | 5 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 12 | -11 | 0 |
- Teams in bold qualify for semi-finals
