Nguyen Thanh Nhan and Nguyen Le Phat Scored Late as Vietnam Beat the Philippines Two Nil in Nagoya
The win left Vietnam on four points from two matches and knocked the Philippines out of the Asian Games football tournament with a game still to play.
Vietnam beat the Philippines 2-0 in Group C of the men's football tournament at the Asian Games on 18 September 2026, at the CS Asset Minato Soccer Stadium in Nagoya.
Nguyen Thanh Nhan broke the deadlock in the 74th minute and Nguyen Le Phat added the second in the 87th. Dinh Hong Vinh's side had controlled much of the first half without converting any of several clear chances, and only made the pressure count after the interval.
The result took Vietnam to four points from two matches, after they had been held to a 1-1 draw by Kuwait in their opening game. They finish the group against Uzbekistan, who beat the Philippines 5-1 in their first match and are regarded as the strongest side in the section.
The defeat was the second in a row for the Philippines and ended their involvement in the medal race. Their head coach, Garrath McPherson, said his team were getting close to opponents of Vietnam's standard, pointing to the Vietnamese having reached the last Asian Cup final at under 23 level.
The Philippines play Kuwait in their final group match on Tuesday 22 September 2026. The top two in each group, plus the best third placed teams, go through to the quarter finals.