VIETNAM FINISH SECOND IN HANOI MILLENIUM CUP; IRAN LEAD IN HCMC

The Thang Long-Hanoi Millenium Cup is being held simultaneously in both cities of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) as the country celebrates the 1000th anniversary of the founding of the city of Hanoi.

The tournament in Hanoi is for senior teams while the one in HCMC are for the Olympic teams.

In the last round robin match in Hanoi, Australia were held to a goalless by Kuwait in which allowed the hosts to finish second in the tournament.

Vietnam, who beat Kuwait 3-0 and lost 2-0 to Australia, needed a win to take the Millennium Cup while North Korea’s two wins over Kuwait and Australia, needed only a draw to win the tournament.

In the meantime in HCMC, Olympic Vietnam were held to a goalless draw by Olympic Singapore in an attractive game at Thong Nhat stadium yesterday.

In front of 20,000 home fans, Vietnam dominated the game from the start, producing several chances to take the lead.

In an earlier match, Olympic Iran emphatically stunned Olympic Malaysia 2-0.

Moosavi Iman opened the scoring for Iran in the 42nd minute with his long-range strike. In the second half, Afshin Arash scored the second goal in the 79th minute, sealing a 2-0 victory over Malaysia.

As a result, Iran are at the top of the table due to their better goal difference.

Iran, Vietnam and Singapore are in contention to win the title. Vietnam will need a victory over Iran in their final round robin match to secure the trophy.

Singapore may win the cup if they demolish Malaysia while Vietnam draw with Iran.