Overcoming Thanh Chuong Children's School in the penalty shootout, Tan Ky Children's School is in the final for the second consecutive time.

In the quarter-finals, both Tan Ky Children's and Thanh Chuong Children's had convincing victories over tough opponents Nam Dan Children's and Dien Chau Children's, respectively, with the same score of 3-0.

Therefore, experts as well as audiences believe this will be an equal and attractive match between the young players of the two teams.

And as expected, just a few minutes into the match, the goals came in droves. Just a few seconds after the opening whistle, right from the first down, number 11 Vo Nguyen Thai Bao dribbled strongly on the right wing and then fired a shot with great force that left goalkeeper Pham Doan Vu Phong helpless, opening the score for the team from the land of the ants.

Number 11 Vo Nguyen Thai Bao opened the score for Thanh Chuong Children's Club in the first minute of the match. Photo: Thanh Cuong

But when Thanh Chuong fans had not yet stopped cheering after this goal, right after the kick-off, from the middle of the field, number 5 Tran Dang Dat took another step and then fired a left-footed shot that went straight into the top corner of goalkeeper Vo Tran Gia Bao's goal, bringing the match back to the starting line.

Tan Ky Children's players rejoice after the equalizer 1-1. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Just a moment later, from a free kick on the left wing, the ball was poured into the penalty area and number 10 Tran Van Minh Quan jumped high to head the ball accurately into the net, raising the score to 2-1 for the defending champion Tan Ky.

The match was exciting with many fierce battles in the midfield area. Photo: Thanh Cuong.

In the following minutes, the match was still very exciting. With better technique, Nhi dong Tan Ky gradually took the lead. Like the previous matches, the players from the midland district were very active in shooting from afar and most of the shots were very powerful. However, Nhi dong Thanh Chuong players also played aggressively and blocked effectively.

Number 5 Ho Quoc Khanh of Thanh Chuong Children's played aggressively, blocking many dribbling situations of Tan Ky Children's players. Photo: Thanh Cuong

The first half ended with a score of 2-1 in favor of Tan Ky Children.

Entering the second half, Nhi dong Tan Ky was still the dominant team. In a free kick situation in front of the penalty area, Tan Ky's free kick taker put the ball into Nhi dong Thanh Chuong's goal but the goal was not recognized because the referee determined that a player in red had fouled goalkeeper Vo Tran Gia Bao.

A situation where player Dinh La Thang of Thanh Chuong Children's side approaches the goal. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Dominating without scoring, Nhi Dong Tan Ky had to pay the price, when in the 33rd minute, number 5 Ho Quoc Khanh, the most impressive player on Nhi Dong Thanh Chuong's side in this match, fired a long-range shot that sent the ball deep past goalkeeper Pham Nguyen Vu Phong, equalizing the match score.

In the remaining 7 minutes of the match, the game was balanced and no more goals were scored.

A penalty kick by Thanh Chuong Children's players. Photo: Thanh Cuong

With a 2-2 draw, the two teams had to enter a nerve-wracking penalty shootout to determine the winner. While all four players from Tan Ky Children's Football Club successfully executed their kicks, two players from Thanh Chuong Children's Football Club failed in the second and fourth kicks.

The joy of Tan Ky fans after their district team won the right to play in the final match. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Defeating their opponents with a penalty shootout score of 4-2, Tan Ky Children's reached the finals for the second consecutive time. Thanh Chuong Children's was one of two teams that won third place.

Minh Quan