Vietnam have been crowned champions of AFF Suzuki Cup 2018 after beating Malaysia 1-0 on Saturday (Dec 15) to win the final 3-2 on aggregate.

Nguyen Anh Duc cheers his goal in the match. (Photo: SN)

Nguyen Anh Duc grabbed the only goal of the game at the My Dinh National Stadium after six minutes, which proved enough to hand the Golden Dragons only their second AFF crown after both sides had played out a 2-2 draw in Tuesday’s first leg in Kuala Lumpur.

With just six minutes on the clock, Vietnam broke free down the left and Nguyen Quang Hai found enough space to chip a neat ball to the back post, which Anh Duc met with a sweetly-struck volley that Farizal Marlias got a hand to but could not keep out.

Falling behind did not exactly change Malaysia’s mindset as they knew they had to score regardless, having conceded two away goals in the first leg.

Mohamadou Sumareh improvised well in the 11^th minute to fire Malaysia’s first real warning shot, latching onto Safawi Rasid’s miscued attempt and going for goal with a backheel that sent the ball trickling just wide.

Syahmi Safari, who scored a wonder goal in the semi-finals against Thailand, came close to equalising a minute before halftime, meeting Sumareh’s cutback with a speculative attempt that forced Dang Van Lam into a flying save at full stretch.

During the second half, the Vietnamese football players were proactive in attacking and coordinated with each other harmoniously.

Lam made another amazing save from a header of a Malaysia player in the 50^th minute and saved a free kick from outside the box in the 53^rd minute.

Nguyen Phong Hong Duy took a shot from long distance but it went over the bar.

In the 78^th minute, Malaysia's Muhammad Syafiq was given a yellow card for tackling on Nguyen Quang Hai.

Just one minute later, the team’s captain Mohd Zaquan received a yellow card for fouling Dang Van Lam, the fifth for Malaysia.

The second half had four additional minutes.

No more goals were scored until the referee blew the final whistle, and football fans nationwide are expected to enjoy a big fest tonight.

Vietnam glowed bright red on December 15 night as celebrations took place every corner of the country cheering the victory freshly claimed by the men’s football team.