The men’s football tournament of the 2023 SEA Games is underway, and the top teams have kicked off their respective campaigns with impressive victories.
Two-time champions Vietnam got their three-peat bid off to a strong start with a comfortable win, while host nation Cambodia recorded the most convincing victory of the first four games as they thrashed Timor Leste.
Meanwhile, historic SEA Games giants Thailand also took care of business in their opening match against Singapore.
Read on below as SBOTOP recaps the latest SEA Games 2023 news from the start of the men’s football tournament.
Hosts Cambodia crush Timor Leste
Hosts Cambodia made a great start in the men’s football tournament as they throttled minnows Timor Leste 4-0 in their opening match.
Midfielder Chou Sinti was the star of the show as he bagged a brace in the first half. Sor Rotana and Lim Pisoth scored late in the second half to seal the big win, to the delight of the 50,000-capacity crowd at the National Olympic Stadium in Phnom Penh.
There has been great demand for football tickets from the home supporters as they get to experience being SEA Games hosts for the first time. And the Angkor Warriors kicked off their quest to claim their first medal in the football competition with the help of their home crowd.
Cambodia will look to make it two wins out of two when they face the Philippines in their next Group A game.
Vietnam begin three-peat bid with a bang
Reigning Southeast Asian football champions Vietnam kicked off their bid for a third-straight title with a routine 2-0 win over Laos.
The Golden Star Warriors got off to a great start as Nguyen Van Tung gave them a 1-0 lead after just two minutes. However, they struggled to add a second goal as Laos were resolute defensively and even threatened a few times on the counterattack.
But Vietnam eventually got their second goal in the second minute of stoppage time. Substitute Khuat Van Khang delivered a pinpoint cross to fellow sub Nguyen Quoc Viet, who made no mistake with the finish.
Vietnam have now gone 14 games unbeaten in the football tournament of the SEA Games dating back to 2019. They will look to extend that unbeaten run to 15 games when they face Singapore in their second group-stage match.
Thailand take care of Singapore
The other finalists from the 2021 SEA Games, Thailand, also began their 2023 campaign strong as they smashed Singapore 3-1.
The record 16-time SEA Games football champions took an early lead in the seventh minute through striker Teerasak Poeiphimai. And strike partner Achitpol Keereerom doubled the War Elephants’ advantage on 38 minutes.
Singapore were able to pull a goal back as Nicky Melvin Singh scored four minutes from half-time. But the Thais quickly re-established their two-goal advantage through Purachet Thodsanit.
Thanks to their three goals, the Thais have an early advantage over Vietnam as they lead the Group B table. But they will face a much tougher test in their next match, which will be against Malaysia on May 6.
Indonesia pick apart Philippines late
Last but not least, the match that actually kicked off the 2023 SEA Games men’s football tournament, which saw Indonesia beat the Philippines 3-0.
Teenager Marselino Ferdinan Philipus, who is already playing in Europe with the hope of being the next big Asian star, gave the Indonesians the lead at the stroke of half-time.
And the Young Garuda made sure of their win as they scored two more goals courtesy of Irfan Jauhari and Fajar Fathur Rahman in the final few minutes.
The SEA Games 2023 odds have Indonesia as the favourites to emerge from Group A along with hosts Cambodia. The Young Garuda have reached the SEA Games football tournament semi-finals in each of the last six editions, although they have not grabbed the gold since 1991.
But the Indonesians can take one step closer to securing a spot in the semi-finals for the seventh straight tournament if they win their next game against Myanmar on May 4.
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