The hosts opened the scoring in the sixth minute when captain Do Duy Manh powered a header into the net from a corner delivered by Truong Tien Anh.

Harimau Malaya had a chance to equalise in the 10th minute, but Faisal Halim’s chip went wide.

Vietnam came close to doubling their lead in the 24th minute when a long-range strike from Nguyen Hoang Duc struck the crossbar, with Malaysian goalkeeper Ahmad Syihan Hazmi already beaten.

Syihan later made a crucial save in the 32nd minute to deny Do Hoang Hen’s attempt inside the penalty box, keeping the score at 0-1 at halftime.

Vietnam extended their lead in the second half through a header by Nguyen Xuan Son, who met a cross from Hoang Hen in the 51st minute.

Xuan Son doubled his tally in the 59th minute, heading home a cross from Tien Anh while unmarked in the penalty area, giving Kim Sang Sik’s side a comfortable 3-0 lead.

Malaysia pulled one back through a penalty converted by substitute Endrick dos Santos in the 77th minute, but the team could not recover, extending their winless streak against Vietnam away from home since 2014.

Vietnam, who have secured qualification for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, topped the group with 18 points from six games.

Malaysia finished second with nine points, followed by Laos with six and Nepal at the bottom with three points.

Malaysia’s hopes of qualifying for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup for a second consecutive time were dashed after the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) handed them a points deduction after ruling that the team fielded ineligible players in last year’s qualifiers against Nepal and Vietnam.