Malaysia 2 - Taiwan 1; Vietnam 6 - Macau 0

Vietnam hosted Macau in a full stadium in Ho Chi Minh City. The crowd was not deterred by the prospect of a bloodbath, and that is exactly what the Vietnamese faithful received. Vietnam romped behind a first-half hat-trick by Le Cong Vinh and led at the interval 3-0. The score was doubled in the second half and Vietnam won big 6-0.

The second leg in Macau is but a mere formality now, and with Vietnam not being located too far away, one could expect a good number of Vietnam's fans to show up for the return leg. Unless a miracle occurs, Macau will bow out and Vietnam will advance to face Qatar in what could be the most intriguing AFC Second Round matchup aside from India versus UAE.

Malaysia, the defending ASEAN champions, were made to suffer for their win at home to Taiwan in the first leg of their aggregate-goals series. The yellow-and-blue-clad home supporters were rocking the stadium in Kuala Lumpur in support of Malaysia, and their hopes were realized before the half-hour mark after a powerful right-footed blast from Safiq Rahim that violently curved into the side netting. Malaysia held the 1-0 lead into the half, and then really gave the crowd something to cheer after a header made the score 2-0 to the good. However, Taiwan did not quit, knowing fully well that one road goal can make all the difference in a home-and-away series. A smartly cut back ball from the endline found its way into the Malaysia penalty area, from where Po Liang Chen coolly tucked the ball home. The match ended at 2-1, with the final goal subduing the crowd.

The two sides face off in four days’ time in Taipei for the right to advance to the second round. Favorites Malaysia have a slim lead that appears slimmer still after surrendering an away goal, but the Malaysians still hope for an AFC Second Round clash against archrivals Singapore.

Goals:
Vietnam
Le Cong Vinh 19, 36, 39 PK
Pham Thanh Luong 62
Nguyen Ngoc Thanh 67
Nguyen Van Quyet 87

Malaysia
Safiq Rahim 28
Mohamad Aidil Abd Radzak 55

Taiwan
Chen Po Liang 77

Match Reports:
http://www.the-afc.com/en/tournaments/men-a-youth/fifa-world-cup/35507-vietnam-v-macau

http://www.the-afc.com/en/tournaments/men-a-youth/fifa-world-cup/35508-malaysia-v-chinese-taipei

Highlights:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcL-GrKI05o (Malaysia v. Taiwan)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcL-GrKI05o (Vietnam v. Macau)