By Michael Church
(Reuters) – Vietnam were held to a 0-0 draw by Singapore on Friday as both nations kept their hopes of a place in the semi-finals of the Asean Championships alive with one round of the regional tournament remaining.
The Vietnamese, who last won the Southeast Asian title in 2018, continue to lead Group B on goal difference from Singapore with the pair level on seven points, one ahead of third-placed Malaysia.
Singapore face the Malaysians in their final group game on Tuesday knowing a draw will take them into the knockout rounds for the second tournament in a row.
Vietnam, meanwhile, will meet already-eliminated Myanmar, who drew 2-2 draw with Laos in Yangon.
Soukaphone Vongchiengkham gave the Laotians a 12th minute lead only for Kyaw Min Oo to level three minutes later.
Ekkamai Ratxachak restored the visitors’ advantage a minute into the second half before Maung Maung Lwin scored six minutes into injury time to earn Myanmar a share of the points.
Ten Southeast Asian nations have been facing off in the competition since Dec. 20, with the teams split across two groups and playing one another on a single round-robin basis.
The top two sides in each group will advance to the semi-finals, which will be played on a home-and-away basis on Jan. 6 and 9, with the final to be held on Jan. 13 and 16.
(Reporting by Michael Church in Tokyo)
