Spirited Pakistan bow out of FIFA ASEAN Cup after 4-2 defeat against Vietnam

JAKARTA: The Pakistan men's football team concluded their campaign at the inaugural FIFA ASEAN Cup with a 4-2 defeat at the hands of Vietnam here at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium on Friday.

The Green Shirts, sitting 99 places further down the FIFA World Ranking than their opponents, made a spirited start to the enthralling fixture as they took the lead in the 31st minute through Mohib Ullah.

The Centre-back pressed the Vietnam defence into submission and raced on to a slack back pass before slotting in his first international goal.

Pakistan's defence gave up very little before the break, with only Williams Minh Hoang firing a shot on target, and thus Nolberto Solano's side finished the first half with a slender 1-0 lead in their favour.

Vietnam coach Kim Sangsik rung in changes at half-time, which saw his side fight back. The Asian Championship 2026 winners eventually netted the equaliser through Nguyen Hai Long in the 50th minute following a sensational assist from Phan Tuan Tai, who came off the bench.

Vietnam doubled their advantage shortly afterwards when fellow half-time substitute Nguyen Dinh Bac raced onto a long ball and cut it back for Nguyen Hoang Duc, who fired a superb first-time strike into the net from just outside the box.

Dinh Bac then got on the scoresheet himself, bursting through a tiring Pakistan defence before finding the bottom-left corner to make it 3-0 in Vietnam's favour.

Pakistan, who staged a comeback in their previous fixture against the Philippines to salvage a draw, showed glimpses of their late surge against Vietnam when Ali Khan pulled one back for them in the 88th minute.

But their comeback was short-lived as Minh Hoang struck in the first minute of extra time to restore Vietnam's two-goal advantage, which remained intact until the final whistle.

Despite their valiant performance against the Philippines and Vietnam, Pakistan concluded their ASEAN Cup campaign with a bottom-placed finish, managing to secure just one point in three matches.

On the contrary, the outcome of the fixture meant Vietnam secured the second spot in Group B, only behind leaders Thailand due to an inferior goal difference.

They will now lock horns with the second-placed side of Group A, Malaysia, in the bronze medal match at the same venue on October 5.