KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia -- In a game between the tournament's defending champions and an understrength side who boasted just four players with more than 20 caps to their names at the start of their campaign, there theoretically seemed to only ever be one likely winner in Sunday's clash between Vietnam and Malaysia.
But matches of football are not won on paper, but on the field.
And while Vietnam ultimately claimed a 2-0 away win in the first leg of their ASEAN Championship semifinal at Kuala Lumpur Stadium, putting them in a strong position to get the job done in Wednesday's return encounter in Hanoi, it was far from a straightforward evening for them.
In the end, it was a familiar name that gave Vietnam the breakthrough at a crucial moment -- in the fifth minute of first-half stoppage time -- and arguably against the run of play, given the amount of endeavour and enterprise Malaysia has showed in the opening 45.
Since the Brazilian-born Rafaelson gained Vietnamese citizenship in 2024, he has now scored 14 goals in as many international outings.
His eight goals in Vietnam's triumphant 2024 ASEAN Championship campaign won him both the top goalscorer and Most Valuable Player awards. His currently tally might even be higher if not for the leg fracture he suffered in the second leg of that edition's final -- which led to a prolonged spell on the sidelines.
On Sunday, as he launched himself into the air to meet a terrific cross from Trương Tiến Anh -- following excellent work by the Vietnam wingback down the right -- and send a diving header into the back of the net, it was only his third goal of the campaign.
Yet, that is not a sign that Rafaelson isn't the same force to be reckoned with from two years ago. Vietnam are simply no longer solely reliant on him to score, and that can only be a positive.
Vietnam coach Kim Sang-Sik was even able to give his spearhead a rest earlier in the group stage only for his side to still claim a remarkable 3-0 victory over Indonesia, with Rafaelson coming on as a substitute and rounding off the scoring.
Nonetheless, when the stakes are at their highest, the 29-year-old is still the man to turn to.
His game is not just about goals even if his scoring rate is prolific. His imposing presence as the focal point in attack allows Vietnam to get the most out of their creative and pacy players like Nguyễn Hoàng Đức and Nguyễn Đình Bắc respectively -- who excel with more time and space.
And despite his star player status, Rafaelson battles as hard as anyone else in the team -- as he did in his one-on-one duel against Malaysia, initially against Rodney Celvin for just 16 minutes before Aysar Hadi offered a second sparring partner after the former limped off with injury.
The fight that Aysar -- who was handed his first senior cap in abrupt fashion -- showed epitomised the fearless attitude Malaysia showed in taking on a daunting task.
They might even have been leading in the first half. In the 35th minute, captain Paulo Josué had a effort inside the six-yard box brilliantly saved by Lê Giang Patrik from point-blank range, before a follow-up effort from Daryl Sham was blazed wildly over with the goal beckoning.
Another chance for Daryl went begging two minutes later when he was picked out inside the box after a brilliant run and cutback by G. Pavithran, only for him to opt against shooting first time -- where he was then duly dispossessed.
After Rafaelson's opener, Malaysia's chances then looked to have been given a boost a minute after the hour mark when Patrik was shown a straight red after seemingly committing a last-man foul on Mohamadou Sumareh -- only for a VAR review to come to the visitors' rescue the dismissal was overturned and not even a foul was given.
A one-goal loss would still have been a little unkind to Malaysia, but it would have at least given them genuine hope of pulling off a comeback in Hanoi.
Still, luck just eluded them all evening, and in the 84th minute, they lent a helping hand to Vietnam's second goal as captain Nguyễn Quang Hải spun free on the edge of the box and attempted to find a teammate with a killer pass, which the unfortunate Faris Danish -- in a desperate bid to intercept -- could only divert beyond the despairing dive of his goalkeeper Azri Ghani and into the bottom corner.
Harimau Malaya were brave, but they still have a mountain to climb at Mỹ Đình National Stadium on Wednesday.
As often is the case, Vietnam's opponents are left to rue having to come up against Rafaelson.
