Vietnam win international U19 football event

Vietnam defeated Gwangju of South Korea 2-0 in the final to emerge champions in the tournament.

Le Xuan Nam and Le Van Nam scored goals to help Vietnam triumph in the tournament, which drew the participation of five teams, including Hoang Gia Lai, Gwangju, Chinese Taipei and Myanmar.

Vietnam were in the attack mode as soon as the referee blew his whistle. However, in the first half, Vietnam were unable to break the defence line of their rivals.

In extra time in the first half, Huu Thuan was sent off after he was shown the yellow card for a second time.

After the break, Gwangju tried to exert pressure on Vietnam; however, the hosts managed to play according to their tactics.

In the 69th minute, Vietnam were awarded a penalty and Le Van Xuan made no mistake as he opened the score for Vietnam, making it 1-0 in their favour.

Only four minutes later, Le Van Nam aimed his header past the Gwangju goalkeeper to double the score.

In the remaining time, the visitors made every effort to narrow the gap, but they failed.

“The Vietnam team deserves the title, as it played very confidently and skilfully. The players have the potential, and I believe that they will be approached by clubs in the national premier league and the national teams,” said coach Vu Hong Viet of Vietnam team.

Vietnam walked away with the bonus of US$10,000 from the event’s organising board. The team also received a VND100 million reward (US$4,350) from the Vietnam Football Federation and the Vietnam Professional Football Joint Stock Company for their impressive performance.

Nguyen Huu Thang of Vietnam won the best player award and a US$500 prize money.

In the third-place playoff match, Hoang Anh Gia Lai crushed Myanmar 4-2 in the penalty shootout after drawing 1-1 in the official 90 minutes.

VNS