Vietnam marks possession record at U23 Asian Cup

Vietnam had many impressive stats in the group stage of U23 Asian Cup, especially in possession.

On Wednesday night, Vietnam put two past Malaysia and advanced to the quarterfinals. All six shots of Malaysia didn't hit the target and keeper Quan Van Chuan didn't have to make a single save.

Aside from that impressive feat, Vietnam also established a record for this tournament during the game, with 77 percent possession. The previous record belonged to South Korea, who enjoyed 71 percent possession against Malaysia on June 2. Vietnam experienced high possession thanks to the red card that Malaysia received in the first half, which caused them to play with 10 men for the rest of the game.

In this game, Vietnam also made 625 passes, the second-most in the group stage, only after South Korea.

Vietnam became the first team in Southeast Asia to pass the U23 Asian Cup group stage twice, in 2018 and 2022. Thailand and Malaysia have only done so once. In 2018, Vietnam went straight to the final and only lost to Uzbekistan 1-2 in extra time.

Vietnam's opponent in the quarterfinals will be either Japan, Saudi Arabia or the UAE in group D. If Vietnam can reach the semifinals, they will face Australia or Turkmenistan.

The 2022 U23 Asian Cup is hosted in Uzbekistan between June 1-19.