Thailand has successfully defended its ASEAN Championship title following a 1-0 victory over Vietnam in the second leg of the final on Monday (16 Jan).
The win at the Thammasat Stadium in Pathum Thani province gave team Thailand a 3-2 aggregate triumph against their Southeast Asian rivals.
Theerathon Bunmathan, captain of the Thai team, scored with a stunning 24th-minute strike from distance, earning Thailand the spoils in front of their own fans and delivering a record-extending seventh regional crown.
Theerathon has been one of Thailand’s stand-out performers throughout the tournament and capped another fine display with the winning goal. The 32-year-old started and finished the move that saw him receive possession from Adisak Kraisorn some 25 meters out before smashing a right-foot shot into the bottom corner of Dang Van Lam’s goal.
Thailand won the biennial title last year in Singapore, beating Indonesia over two legs in the final after the competition was delayed by 12 months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With the away goals rule in operation, the Thai team went into the second leg with a narrow advantage after a 2-2 draw in Hanoi on Friday (13 Jan).
Vietnam was hoping to give coach Park Hang-Seo a winning send-off, with the South Korean announcing that he would end his five-and-a-half-year stint in charge at the end of the tournament. (NNT)
 |
 |
 |
