Late drama has seen Singapore suffer a 2-0 loss to Vietnam in the first leg of the ASEAN Championship semifinals.

SINGAPORE: For 90 minutes, the Lions went toe to toe with regional heavyweights Vietnam, buoyed by the support of a vociferous sea of red at the Jalan Besar Stadium. But two late goals in the depths o

Xuan Son Nguyen continued his red-hot form in the ASEAN Championship when he scored in Vietnam’s 2-0 win against Singapore in their semifinal first-leg on Thursday.

The Lions reached the semi-finals after finishing second in Group A with wins over Cambodia (2-1 at the National Stadium) and Timor-Leste (3-0 in Hanoi), a valiant defeat by defending champions Thailand (4-2 at the National Stadium) and a battling draw in Malaysia (0-0 in Bukit Jalil).

Only 70 tickets were allowed to be sold to Vietnamese supporters for the first match between the Vietnam and Singapore national football teams at the 6,000-seat Jalan Besar Stadium, but all 70 supporters saw Vietnam take the advantage in the ASEAN Cup semis with a 2-0 win.

The first leg of the 2024 ASEAN Championship semifinal between Singapore and Vietnam had a change in venue wherein it was moved from the Singapore National Stadium.

Vietnam pulled off a convincing 2-0 victory against Singapore in stoppage time with a penalty by striker Tien Linh, and a goal doubling the score by naturalized striker of Brazilian origin Nguyen Xuan Son in the first leg of the ASEAN Cup 2024 semi-final at Jalan Besar Stadium in the island-city state on December 26 evening.

SINGAPORE: The Lions suffered two sickening stoppage-time blows on Boxing Day as they lost 2-0 to Vietnam in the first leg of the Asean Championship semi-finals at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Dec 26.