Ngân Thị Vạn Sự at the double as Vietnam down India in Asian Cup

Updated: Mar 4, 2026, 03:24 pm

A Ngân Thị Vạn Sự double -- which included a dramatic 94th-minute winner -- helped Vietnam claim a 2-1 win over India in their opening Group C encounter at the 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup on Wednesday.
A Ngân Thị Vạn Sự double -- which included a dramatic 94th-minute winner -- helped Vietnam claim a 2-1 win over India in their opening Group C encounter at the 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup on Wednesday.
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Ngân Thị Vạn Sự has come to Vietnam's rescue in their Women's Asian Cup opener, scoring in the 94th minute to complete her double and lead her side to a thrilling 2-1 win over India in Perth.

Vạn Sự opened the scoring in the 30th minute with a curling strike before world No. 67 India equalised in the 52nd minute via Sanfida Nongrum in Wednesday's clash at HBF Park.

The 36th-ranked Vietnam were hot favourites, and anything other than a victory would have put a big dent in their hopes of qualifying for the quarterfinals for a second successive time.

Vạn Sự came close to nabbing the winner on several occasions, and she eventually broke through in the fourth minute of extra time when she put away Vũ Thị Hoa's smart cross.

Vietnam's players piled on top of the cramping Vạn Sự after the goal went in, with the three crucial points putting them second in group C behind Japan -- who claimed a 2-0 win over Chinese Taipei earlier in the day.

Vietnam's pace proved hard to handle for India in the first half, with the lightning-quick Nguyễn Thị Bích Thùy proving particularly tricky.

Bích Thùy put India on notice in the 14th minute when her 24-yard strike hit the crossbar.

The 31-year-old had several other good looks on goal -- but some of the best build-ups went unrewarded after Bích Thùy fell foul of the offside trap.

Vietnam enjoyed 63 percent possession in the first half, and they hit the lead in the 30th minute via a beautiful curling strike from Vạn Sự.

The second half began with a bang.

Vietnam were celebrating their second goal in the 48th minute after Thái Thị Thảo was able to poke the ball in on her fourth attempt from a mad goalmouth scramble.

But VAR intervened to rule Thị Thảo had been offside.

Then just four minutes later India notched the equaliser as substitute Nongrum unleashed a shot that brushed the goalkeeper's fingertips and went in.

Vietnam came close to regaining the lead in the 76th minute when Vạn Sự beat three defenders on her way into the box -- only for the goalkeeper to block her low shot.

But when her moment of truth came in the 94th minute, Vạn Sự made no mistake with the finish -- sending the small crowd of 1,961 fans wild.