Vietnam defeated Pakistan 3-0 in their opening game of the men’s football category at the 2018 Asian Games (Asiad) on Tuesday.

The match kicked off at 4:00 pm at Wibawa Mukti Stadium in West Java, Indonesia and ended with an absolute victory for the Vietnamese players.

Using the 3-4-3 formation and focusing more on attacks, Vietnam were able to pressure their Pakistanis opponents.

Quang Hai scored the first goal 21 minutes into the game, while Van Quyet and Cong Phuong netted the other two in the 41st and 73rd minutes.

Experts believed that the Southeast Asian team could have scored even more goals as they had a total of 16 shots toward Pakistan’s woodwork, including five corner kicks and three direct free kicks.

However, the result showed that Vietnam had carefully studied their opponents’ strengths and weaknesses and took their full advantage.

During a press meeting after the game, Vietnam’s head coach Park Hang-seo said he was not completely satisfied with the outcome.

Some of the key players did not perform as well as he had expected, he stated, before adding that it was their opening game and they needed time to familiarize themselves with the field.

Vietnam currently lead Group D, followed by Japan, Nepal, and Pakistan.

Japan beat Nepal 1-0 during their opening game on Tuesday evening.

The Vietnamese players will face Nepal at 7:00 pm on August 16 and Japan at 4:00 pm on August 19.

The Asian Games is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. 

This year’s event will be held in Jakarta and Palembang in Indonesia from August 18 to September 2.

The men’s football category began on August 10, eight days ahead of the official schedule.

Participating countries send under-23 players to compete in the men’s football category, with three overage players allowed on each team.

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