In Friday’s other game, the Philippines eased to their first win in the competition against Brunei in Manila after their shock 3-2 loss to Cambodia.
Kenshiro Daniels scored for the second game in a row to give the Azkals a seventh-minute lead, and Sandro Reyes netted his first international goal five minutes later to double the Philippines’ advantage.
Jesus Melliza hit his side’s third five minutes after the interval and Sebastian Rasmussen added the fourth a minute later after a mistake by goalkeeper Haimi Nyaring.
Razimie Ramili pulled one back for Brunei with 20 minutes remaining, only for Rasmussen to restore his side’s four-goal advantage two minutes from time with his second of the game.
The group phase of the tournament, which brings together 10 nations from across Southeast Asia, continues until Jan 3, with the top two teams in each group advancing to the last four.
The semi-finals will be played on a home-and-away basis on Jan 6 and Jan 9, with the final also to be played over two legs on Jan 13 and Jan 16.
