Soccer-Vietnam keep title defence on track in ASEAN Championship as Singapore advance


Aug 7 (Reuters) - Defending champions Vietnam ⁠booked their place in the ASEAN Championship semi-finals with a 3-1 ⁠win over Cambodia in Hanoi on Friday as hosts Singapore picked up ‌a 1-1 draw against Indonesia to also progress to the last four.

Striker Nguyen Dinh Bac scored twice for Vietnam, who secured first place in Group A, and Kim Sang-sik's side will next ​take on the runners-up in Group B, which ⁠will be completed on Saturday.

Dinh ⁠Bac gave his side an 18th minute lead when he raced in behind the ⁠defence ‌to score but a goal from Iago Bento pulled the Cambodians level with 19 minutes remaining.

An own goal by Im Vakhim in the ⁠84th minute restored Vietnam's lead and Dinh Bac lifted ​the ball over the ‌advancing Koy Salim in the final minute to seal his side's win.

Singapore ⁠also booked ​their last-four berth when Ilhan Fandi salvaged a point for the four-times champions as Indonesia's struggles in the competition continued.

Indonesia, the most populous country in Southeast Asia, have not ⁠won the title during the competition's 30-year history ​and the John Herdman-coached side exited with a whimper.

The visitors needed to win in Singapore after losing their previous match against the Vietnamese and Ragnar Oratmangoen put them ⁠in front with a close-range finish in the 47th minute.

But a mix-up in defence between goalkeeper Cahya Supriadi and Rizky Ridho set up Ilhan to level in the 66th minute and earn the Singaporeans the point needed to qualify.

Singapore ​will host the winners of Group B in the ⁠first leg of their semi-final on August 15 before travelling for the return three ​days later.

The Vietnamese, meanwhile, will be away for ‌the first match in their two-legged semi-final ​against the Group B runners-up on August 16 before hosting the second leg on August 19.

(Reporting by Michael Church, editing by Pritha Sarkar)

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