Cam Pha Stadium in northern Vietnam boomed out during Saturday night as the capacity crowd constantly cheered for SEA Games defending champions Vietnam, who beat Thailand 1-0 in the final.
Vietnam captain and striker Nguyen Thi Huynh Nhu scored the decisive goal in the 70th minute as she passed Thai goalkeeper Waraporn Boosing to fire into the empty net after a rapid counter-attack.
The Thais left no stone unturned to seek an equalizer but the Vietnamese women’s counter-attack tactics stopped them.
The win at the 31st SEA Games women’s football final was the straight third-time victory in the Games for coach Mai Duc Chung and the Vietnamese women, who also beat Thailand in the 30th SEA Games final in 2019.
In the third-place playoff just before the final, the Philippines ended their 37-year medal drought with a 2-1 comeback win over Myanmar to secure the bronze medals.
Myanmar took the lead in the 24th minute as striker Win Theigi Tun converted a penalty into a goal. They managed to maintain the advantage despite the Filipino women’s pressing until the 72nd minute, when the match situation changed totally.
Striker Sarina Bolden fired for the Philippines with a high shot too strong for the Burmese keeper to stop. Shortly after the equalizer, it was Bolden who gave Quinley Quezada a scoring pass, and the latter fired with a low finish. Inspired by the two goals, the Philippines got more chances for a third goal but they could not make it.
In the 2019 SEA Games, Myanmar beat the Filipinas 2-1 in the bronze medal match.
This January, both Vietnam and the Philippines were qualified for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand.
In the SEA Games 31 men’s football, holders Vietnam will take on regional powerhouse Thailand in the final on Sunday at My Dinh National Stadium in Hanoi after the bronze medal match between Indonesia and Malaysia.