Throughout 13 AFF Cup tournaments, only five times have a team made it past the group stage with a clean sheet. Vietnam did it thrice, in 2000, 2018 and this year. The two other times involved Indonesia in 2004, and Thailand in 2008.

Defender Do Duy Manh marks a player in the AFF Cup game between Vietnam and Cambodia on December 19, 2021.

In this tournament and the previous one, Vietnam kept a clean sheet in the group stage thanks to the five-man defensive line set by coach Park Hang-seo. The team have only conceded 35 goals in the history of the AFF Cup group stage, only behind Thailand's 32.

Vietnam also received the least number of shots from the opponents in this AFF Cup group stage, with 19, followed by Thailand with 28.

Despite not conceding in the group stage, Vietnam still finished second in group B behind Indonesia. On Thursday, the team will face group A leader Thailand in the semifinals. For Indonesia, they will play the host Singapore on Wednesday.

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Source: VnExpress