Vietnam, Philippines clash in AFF semis

MANILA, Philippines —  Defending champion Vietnam walloped Myanmar, 4-0, to top Group B of the AFF Women’s Championship and arrange an intriguing semifinal duel with host Philippines.

Nguyen Thi Tuyet Dung scored twice in the first half to set the tone for the runaway triumph before a loud Vietnamese crowd at the Rizal Memorial Stadium last night and completed a sweep of their four assignments in the five-team bracket.

Nguyen found the back of the net in the 15th minute then converted her spot kick 19 minutes later to open the floodgates for the fancied Vietnamese, who are also the reigning SEAG champs.

Skipper Juynh Nhu joined the fray just before the halftime break then Pham Hai Yen added a fourth two minutes to time as Vietnam handed Myanmar its first loss in four matches for Group B No. 2.

Vietnam’s expected group win set up a rematch of the semis of the 2019 edition with the Filipinas, who settled for Group A runner-up after yielding to Thailand, 1-0, the other night.

The Philippines and Vietnam face off tomorrow to dispute a ticket to the gold-medal match against the winner of the other pairing between the Thais and the Burmese.

Despite the heartbreaker to Thailand, Philippine coach Alen Stajcic feels the Filipinas turned in a generally fine performance, which they can build on heading to the semifinals.