Vietnam extend winning streak to 17 after friendly draw with N. Korea
Tuesday, December 25, 2018, 23:13 GMT+7
Vietnam pushed their active unbeaten streak to 17 games after drawing North Korea 1-1 in an international friendly in Hanoi on Tuesday evening.
The friendly was a warm-up for Vietnam, who won their decade-awaited ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Cup last week, before their next big tournament on the Asian football calendar - the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.
North Korea will also play in the continental tournament that kicks off next month in the United Arab Emirates.
The home and away teams both took advantage of the first half of Tuesday's friendly to test their formations by deploying many substitutes at different positions.
There were thus no significant opportunities for both sides, except for a remarkable moment in the 24th minute when an effort by North Korea was disallowed for offside.
The teams headed for the changing room with the scoreboard not flipped even once.
Video: VTV6
Fans had to wait until the 55th minute to see the first goal of the match scored by Vietnam.
Striker Nguyen Cong Phuong played a brilliant through-ball to Tien Linh, who beat goalkeeper Ri Myong Guk from inside the box.
North Korea leveled the game in the 82nd minute, when Jong Il Gwan bent the ball around the wall and into the net from a free-kick.
The friendly ended in a 1-1 draw, a result that pleased both sides.
For Vietnam, the draw extended their invincible run to 17 games, the longest active undefeated streak in world football so far. The Golden Stars did not lose a single game since December 2016.
The 2018 AFF Cup champions will soon be able to extend their winning run, as they still have another international friendly with the Philippines on December 31.
Vietnam will then depart for the United Arab Emirates for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, which kicks off on January 5.
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