The field has been cut short from 10 to the final four teams as the group stage action in the ASEAN Mitsubishi Electric Cup™ 2024 came to an exciting conclusion with the final four matches on Friday and Saturday.
While reigning champions Thailand and Singapore booked their places in the knockout stage from Group A, Vietnam and the Philippines became the two sides to join them in the next phase from Group B.
ASEAN United FC presents four players who starred for their respective sides in the final group stage games and lets you, the fans, decide who will become the Best Player of Matchday 5 by voting at the bottom of the article.
Akarapong Pumwiset (Thailand)
Having already booked their place in the knockout stage after their penultimate group match, Thailand fielded a much-changed starting 11 in their final game against Cambodia, but they still managed to post a comeback victory against the visitors to secure the top spot and preserve their perfect start.
One player returning to the line-up after a rest in the win against Singapore was Akarapong Pumwiset and the 29-year-old bagged his first-ever international goal for Thailand’s quickfire reply to Cambodia’s opener, arriving to score on the rebound after Worachit Kanitsribampen’s initial effort was saved by goalkeeper Reth Ly Heng.
The Lamphun Warriors captain then went on to add a second and give Thailand the lead after a well-worked team goal that also involved Teerasak Poeiphimai and Worachit before Akarapong’s neat finish to make it 2-1 to cap off a memorable outing in Thailand colours for the midfielder.
Haziq Nadzli (Malaysia)
Though Malaysia bowed out of the ASEAN Mitsubishi Electric Cup™ after a goalless draw with Singapore, they went toe-to-toe with the Lions in their final group match at Bukit Jalil National Stadium in Kuala Lumpur and had Haziq Nadzli to thank for preserving the clean sheet.
The Malaysia goalkeeper produced three spectacular saves during the 90 minutes – the first of which came in the 67th minute when the 26-year-old offered a strong fist to deny a long-range effort from Amirul Adli that was travelling away from the shot-stopper.
With the game inching towards a stalemate, Haziq then made a fantastic double save in second-half stoppage time to secure the point by denying Ryhan Stewart twice – first palming away the substitute’s shot in a one-on-one situation before diving low to his right to keep out the follow-up header from creeping in.
Nguyen Xuan Son (Vietnam)
After becoming eligible to represent Vietnam last month, Nguyen Xuan Son made a blistering start at the international stage by bagging two goals and two assists on his debut to help the Golden Star Warriors progress to the knockout stage of the ASEAN Mitsubishi Electric Cup™ as Group B winners.
The Brazilian-born striker joined Nam Dinh at the start of 2020 and returned to the club three years later after stints with SHB Da Nang and Binh Dinh. He has developed a reputation as a prolific scorer in the Vietnamese top flight and looks to continue his exploits with the Golden Star Warriors as they set their sights on their third ASEAN title.
Working tirelessly throughout the game, Xuan Son bagged the assist as Vietnam opened their scoring through Bui Vi Hao at the start of the second half before doubling the lead himself seven minutes later. The 27-year-old then scored his second in the 90th minute before setting up Nguyen Tien Linh to seal Vietnam’s 5-0 win against Myanmar.
Quincy Kammeraad (Philippines)
After back-to-back group stage exits in the ASEAN Championship, the Philippines are back in the semi-finals of the regional showpiece for the first time since 2018 as they edged Indonesia 1-0 in their final group fixture on Saturday to leapfrog their opponents to second place in Group B.
Quincy Kammeraad was handed an unexpected international debut after the Philippines’ first-choice goalkeeper Patrick Deyto suffered a serious injury only four minutes into the game. However, the 23-year-old proved to be a very capable replacement for Deyto as he kept out attack after attack from Indonesia.
The Garuda had six efforts on target during the crunch encounter and all six of them were met with saves from the Philippines goalkeeper – the pick of which came in the 39th minute when Marselino Ferdinan made a mazy run into the box only for Kammeraad to palm his shot onto the post and clear of danger.
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