Hanoi, May 23 (VNA) – Vietnam’s 1-0 victory over Thailand in the SEA Games 31 men’s football final on May 22, helping it to successfully defend its title, has made headlines on the Republic of Korea (RoK)'s news outlets.

Yonhap News Agency described head coach Park Hang-seo as a magic man helping Vietnam beat Thailand to become the champions of the regional Games for two consecutive times.

After its first SEA Games title claimed in 2019, U23 Vietnam competed in this year’s Games right on their home soil with huge expectations and pressures.

Coach Park has led the Vietnamese players to the SEA Games’ final match, which was also the last SEA Games for the Korean coach before new coach Gong Oh-kyun takes over.

Yonhap said the Games remained quite balanced with the two teams playing out a 0-0 draw in the first half. Nham Manh Dung headed the ball into Thailand’s net in the 83rd minute to open the score. The goal into the far left corner sent the home crowd wild and Vietnam held on to its narrow lead until the end of the match.

U23 Vietnam triumphed at SEA Games for two consecutive times under Park Hang-seo’s leadership, Chosun Ilbo reported.

Previously at SEA Games 2019 in the Philippines, Vietnam had to wait 60 years to re-claim the Southeast Asian crown, it said./.