Comments on U21 SLNA - U21 Viettel: The 6th championship for the Nghe An team?

Both U21 SLNA and Viettel reached the final with not the best results in the qualifying round. In Group A, U21 Viettel was only in second place after Nam Dinh due to having the same 5 points but inferior head-to-head results. Meanwhile, in Group B, U21 SLNA was also only in second place with 6 points (2 wins and 1 loss), 1 point less than the leading team Cong An Nhan Dan.

Entering the final round, U21 Viettel finished Group B with 7 points and a goal difference of +4 (6-2). Meanwhile,U21 SLNAranked 2nd in this group with 5 points and a goal difference of +4 (7-3).

If U21 SLNA won 1-0 against Nam Dinh, Viettel won 2-1 against Dong Thap. Thus, these two teams entered the final match of the tournament with completely identical achievements, both scoring 8 goals and both conceding 3 goals.

The two teams drew 1-1 in the group stage match. Photo: Ba Tuan

In terms of the quality of the main squad, U21 Viettel has a series of quality players such as Viet Cuong, Manh Dung, Thanh Binh, Huu Thang, Danh Trung. Meanwhile, Nham Manh Dung scored 4 goals in the final round. On the SLNA side, there are only 2 players in the squad:Mai Sy Hoang and Nguyen Van Viethas 3 goals.

Before the final match, U21 Viettel was considered slightly better due to physical factors and squad quality. However, SLNA is also very formidable in defensive counter-attacking play, although this year, the Nghe An team used quite a lot of U17 and U19 players.

In the past, at youth levels, this generation of players born in 1999, 2000 and 2001 of SLNA often lost painfully to Viettel and the final match will certainly be a fateful match. On the other hand, the matches between the “descendants of The Cong” and SLNA always brought hot and fierce football.

SLNA is facing a great opportunity to set a record of 6 times winning the U21 tournament. Photo: Ba Tuan

The history of the National U21 Football Tournament shows that SLNA is the team with the most championships, with 5 titles in 2000; 2001; 2002; 2012; 2014. Hanoi also has 5 titles like SLNA, but if they defeat Viettel, the Nghe An team will set a new record with 6 titles and also win 4 youth championships in 2020.

The final match between U21 SLNA and U21 Viettel will take place at 5:00 p.m. today (December 19) and will be broadcast live on VTV6 channel.

EXPECTED LINEUP

U21 SLNA: TM Thanh Huy, Van Son, Thanh Lam, Khac Luong, Sy Hoang, Van Viet, Ngoc Anh, Xuan Binh, Xuan Tien, Manh Quynh Van Luong.

U21 Viettel: TM Duc Minh, Xuan Kien, Danh Trung, Huu Thang, Van Quyet, Sy Chien, Manh Dung, Tien Anh, Tan Tai, Thanh Binh.