Vietnam beat the Philippines 3-1 to top group A

So, the second-ranked Philippines will face group B leaders Thailand in the semifinals. And the opponents of Vietnam will be decided tomorrow, either Singapore, or Malaysia, or Myanmar.

Just nine minutes into the match, midfielder Hoang Thinh scored the opening goal after blasting a straight diving shot from a distance of 30 meters from the left wing.

At the 29th minute, Cong Vinh was fouled, falling in the Filipino box for being pulled by a rival defender but the referee ignored the mistake.

Minh Tuan lifted up the score to 2-0 for Vietnam in the 51st minute. He had the ball in the middle of the field on the right flank, dribbled past a rival player to enter the box, and slotted the ball to the low corner to defeat Filipino keeper Deyto.

Seven minutes later, Thanh Luong was set up in the middle field near the Filipino box and he immediately curved a flying shot to drive the ball into the high corner of the goal frame to extend the scoring to 3-0.

The Philippines shortened the gap to 1-3 at the 60th minute by Mulders, who received a cross in the Vietnamese box and cushioned home the goal.

For the Philippines, the match is merely to decide the winner of the group A because it is holding six points after two wins and booked the first ticket to advance to play in the semifinals.

Meanwhile, Vietnam is looking for a good result from the match to secure the other ticket of the group.

The 2014 AFF Suzuki Cup, is taking place in Vietnam and Singapore from November 22 to December 20. Group B features Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia and hosts Singapore.

Speaking to the media before the game, Japanese coach Toshiya Miura of Vietnam said, “My top priority in my mind now is to advance to play in the semifinals, and my next priority is to sit atop the group.”

In the other match of group A, Indonesia routed Laos 5-1.