SLNA and Ha Tinh are in the same group in the 2019 National U19 qualifying round
(Baonghean.vn) - The Vietnam Football Federation has recently divided the groups and proposed a way to organize the 2019 National U19 tournament with many new changes to find the best players to prepare for regional and international tournaments.
SLNA and Ha Tinh continue to be in the same group
Like previous years, the qualifying rounds of the U19 tournament are divided into regions, with 23 participating teams divided into 4 groups. Specifically:
Group A: Viettel (leader), Hanoi, PVF, Than Quang Ninh, Nam Dinh, Thanh Hoa.
Group B: Thua Thien-Hue (leader), Song Lam Nghe An, Ha Tinh, SHB Da Nang, Quang Nam.
Group C: Hoang Anh Gia Lai (leader), Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, Khanh Hoa, Lam Dong, Dong Nai
Group D: Ho Chi Minh City (leader, competition held at Thanh Long Stadium), Becamex Binh Duong, Tay Ninh, Long An, Ben Tre, An Giang.
This is the second time that U19 Ha Tinh has participated in the National U19 qualifying round and continues to be in the same group with SLNA. In the 2018 National U19 tournament, Ha Tinh, in its first participation, also showed quite impressive performances and finished the group stage in 3rd place, behind SLNA and Thanh Hoa.
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| U19 SLNA is eager to win the championship cup after many years of waiting. Photo: Document |
As for U19 SLNA, after an excellent performance in the qualifying round, they quickly qualified for the next round. At the final round held in Thua Thien - Hue, U19 SLNA continued to play well and won 2nd place after the group stage ended. In the semi-finals, the Nghe An team faced U19 Hanoi, after 90 minutes ended with a score of 1-1, the two teams entered the decisive match, U19 SLNA had to stop at the semi-finals of the 2018 National U19 Finals.
The changes
The first new feature is that the age of the U19 tournament will not take 19-year-old players (born in 2000) but will be lower, specifically from 16 - 18 years old (born from January 1, 2001 to December 31, 2003) are players in U15 - U17. VFF issued this regulation to suit the preparation of the selection force for the U.19 Vietnam team to participate in the U.18 Southeast Asian tournament in 2019, the U.19 Asian tournament in 2020 and the U.20 World Cup in 2021.
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| U17 SLNA is the runner-up at the National U17 tournament. Photo: Doc Phong |
Last year, U15 SLNA won the National U15 Championship, the U17 players are also the current runner-up of the National U17 Championship after losing in the final match to U17 Viettel. U19 SLNA in the upcoming tournament will be one of the strong candidates for the championship.
The second new feature is that the host team of the final round will play the qualifying round and also have official results like other teams. This will help the host team of the final round, HAGL, have the opportunity to practice and test their strength with opponents early rather than just "practice" waiting for the final round.
The 23 participating teams will compete in a two-legged qualifying round in the host city, with rankings calculated to select the 4 first-placed teams and the 3 second-placed teams with the best results from the 4 groups to enter the final round. If Hoang Anh Gia Lai (host of the final round) finishes the qualifying round in the top 4 or the 3 second-placed teams with the best results from the 4 groups, the remaining second-placed team will qualify for the final round.
The first leg will be played from January 15 to January 25 and the second leg from February 25 to March 7, 2019. The final round will take place at the end of March in Pleiku.
