Pham Minh Phuc (centre) celebrating the extra-time winning goal against the UAE, that sent Vietnam to their second ever AFC U23 Asian Cup on Friday. Photo courtesy of the AFC  

Despite the fact that it was midnight in Hà Nội, despite having gone in front twice and was equalised twice, despite the match being taken to extra time, the Việt Nam national under-23 football team overcame the adversities to win 3-2 against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after extra time in the quarterfinal of the 2026 AFC U23 Asian Cup on Friday.

Nguyễn Lê Phát brought the lead for the Golden Star Warriors early in the first half, before Junior Ndiaye equalised just before the break. Việt Nam went ahead again in the second half through Nguyễn Đình Bắc but Mansoor Saeed Al-Menhali forced the match to go into extra time, where Phạm Minh Phúc found the winning goal that woke up millions of Vietnamese fans.

Almost no changes were made by coach Kim Sang-sik to the starting line up compare to the match against Saudi Arabia, where talismanic player Nguyễn Đình Bắc still starts from the bench, with Lê Viktor playing in his place at centre-forward.

The match started slow with a cautious approach from both sides. Việt Nam had, surprisingly, more possession in the early part of the first half, while UAE sat back and waited for counter-attacks.

In the 16th minute, UAE's Al-Menhali fired off a shot from a long ball into the back of Trung Kiên's net. The goal however, was not given after intervention from VAR, which deemed Al-Menhali of handball before the shot was taken.

Both teams went tit-for-tat in the minutes after, and in the 32nd minute, Yousif Ahmed and Lê Viktor both went for the ball and clattered into each other. Viktor was concussed and had to be subbed off, his replacement was no one else but the enigmatic Đình Bắc.

Việt Nam's No.7 wasted no time to show his impact. In the 39th minute, a through ball in midfield found Bắc free inside the penalty area. The winger played a great low cross towards Lê Phát, who tapped in the empty net and opened the score for Việt Nam.

But just two minutes later, a cross towards the back post from UAE found Al-Memari, whose header rattled Trung Kiên's bar and bizarrely rebounded to Junior Ndiaye. The former UEFA U17 Championship winner easily headed in the top corner of the net despite Trung Kiên's best efforts to put the ball out.

With midfielder Xuân Bắc also went down injured after the break, Coach Kim brought on Nguyễn Thái Quốc Cường in midfield.

The story of the second half was very much akin to the first, as Việt Nam was the more active and dominant team, with a diverse range of attacking plays while UAE sought to capitalise on the physical advantage with long ball and crosses.

In the 63rd minute, the unlikely breakthrough came again for the men in red, as Phạm Minh Phúc fired a perfect cross towards Đình Bắc. The starlet replicated his national team debut goal against Japan just two years ago with a backwards header towards the back post, leaving keeper Khaled Tawhid zero chance.

UAE did not relent and pushed on forward after Việt Nam's goal. They soon found a reply just five minutes later with a towering header by captain Al-Menhali to equalise for the second time.

As extra time was looming for both teams, Việt Nam had two golden chances to close off the game. In the 89th minute, a cross from substitute Nguyễn Thanh Nhàn found Võ Anh Quân free inside the penalty area. Quân's unmarked header however, was saved by the fingertips of Tawhid.

Just seconds later, Đình Bắc had a chance to shoot, but elected to pass for an unmarked Thanh Nhàn, whose shot was blocked with a last-ditch tackle from an UAE defender.

The last time Việt Nam U23 ended regulation time with a 2-2 scoreline, they scored in the first period of extra time to bring home the victory. The same script happened again in this match, albeit a little later than in the SEA Games final against Thailand.

In the 101st minute, from a header by Đình Bắc, the ball found centre-back Nguyễn Nhật Minh, who shocked the UAE defence with a skillful dribble inside the penalty area. Minh tried a shot but it was blocked, and the rebound went to Thanh Nhàn whose shot was also stopped. But on the third time a shot was made by Việt Nam, the charm came for Minh Phúc, who scored with a vicious shot that went through the legs of a centre back, leaving Tawhid no chance at all.

Manager Marcelo Broli pulled out all the stops, and brought on as many strikers as he could but none could made the difference while Kim Sang-sik's defence stayed strong to end the match 3-2 in favour of Việt Nam.

"We dedicate this victory to all Vietnamese football fans," said captain Khuất Văn Khang in the post-match interview.

With this result, Việt Nam advanced to their second-ever AFC U23 Asian Cup semi final, and is one match away from repeating the famous 'Miracle of Changzhou' in 2018, where they advanced to the final.

An old rival may be the next opponent waiting in line for Kim Sang-sik's men, which could be either Uzbekistan or China.