The game was part of the friendly tour, Masters Vietnam, which saw ex-Vietnam players playing friendly matches against from Manchester United and Liverpool stars.
The Vietnamese side took the lead after just 10 minutes when unmarked Le Huynh Duc combined well with Nguyen Hong Son and Nguyen Minh Hieu before netting the ball.
Man Utd regrouped and put pressure on the host team with a combination of long ball and wide play.
Vivian Anderson narrowly missed from Cole’s cross, when his header whistled over the bar in the 15th minute.
Tommy Mooney and Swedish Jesper Blomqvist both missed chances to level the score in the 21st and 31st minutes.
Vietnamese goalie Nguyen Hong Pham had a good first half performance, denying Utd with some fine saves.
After the break, the visitors stepped up the pace as they went in search of their first goal.
Left winger Blomqvist sent an accurate cross to find Cole, who beat substitute keeper Tran Tien Anh with a skilful header.
Thirteen minutes from time, Clayton Blacknore made the score 2-1 as he latched on to Tommy Mooney’s lob to surprise the Vietnamese goalie with a close range shot into the far corner.
In the 78th minute, Cole finished off the game when he headed in a cross from the left.
Vietnam will meet Liverpool’s veterans including Jason McAteer, John Barnes, Don Hutchison and Steve McManaman on November 21.