Football: Vietnam win ticket to AFC U17 Asian Cup 2023 finals

The Vietnam U17 football squad have officially secured a ticket to the final round of the AFC U17 Asian Cup 2023 after defeating Thailand 3-0 in a match that took place at Viet Tri Stadium in the northern province of Phu Tho on October 9.

Long Vu (in red) scored the second goal for Vietnam

Right in the first minutes of the first half, Vietnam's players tried to press their opponents and looked for opportunities to create quick counter-attacks. They made at least four shots toward the net of their opponents, but most of them failed.

Their efforts finally paid off when the team received a direct free kick close to the penalty area. Captain Nguyen Cong Phuong shot the ball over the fence and went straight into Thailand's U17 goal in the 20th minute, opening the scoresheet for Vietnam.

Five minutes later, Long Vu helped Vietnam extend the lead to 2-0.

With two goals, the Vietnamese team played comfortably and gained control of the ball. In the 38th minute, Duc Thien fired a left-footed shot at Thailand's goal, raising the score to 3-0 for Vietnam.

In the second half, the Vietnamese players continued to flex their muscles, but they failed to score any goal.

The qualifiers of AFC U17 Asian Cup 2023 gather 44 teams, which are divided into 10 groups. The teams will compete in a round-robin format in each group to determine the top 10 teams and the best five runners-up to advance to the final round

The finals are scheduled for May 3-20 with the destination yet to be confirmed after Bahrain withdrew hosting in June./.

VNA