Vietnam U19 will face Thailand U19 in the final.

After defeating host nation U19 Laos 4-0 in the semi-finals, Coach Hoang Anh Tuan's team secured their place in the final of the Southeast Asian U19 Championship against U19 Thailand on September 4th.

The Vietnam U19 team entered the semi-final with great confidence, having easily defeated Laos U19 in two friendly matches in Hanoi before the Southeast Asian U19 Championship (3-1 and 6-0). Things became even more favorable when, in the second minute, Coach Hoang Anh Tuan's team scored the opening goal. Duc Chinh, the striker who had been heavily criticized for missing too many opportunities in the group stage, cleverly feigned a pass, creating an opportunity for Minh Di to unleash a powerful shot that narrowly missed the post, giving Vietnam the lead.

However, after conceding an early goal, the Laos U19 team staged an impressive comeback. The enthusiastic support from tens of thousands of home fans helped coach Phan Ton Loi, who was sent by club owner Doan Nguyen Duc to manage Hoang Anh Attapeu in the Lao National League, to play explosively against their supposedly superior opponent. The home team repeatedly breached the Vietnam U19 defense, and if goalkeeper Thanh Tuan hadn't had a brilliant first half, they would have scored an equalizer.

Vietnam U19 is the only team in the Southeast Asian U19 Championship that has not conceded a single goal. Photo: Trung Kính

Thanh Tuan deserves to be called the hero of the Vietnam U19 team. In just four minutes (from the 17th to the 21st minute), the goalkeeper from the PVF youth academy consecutively beat the striker duo Vilayphanh and Sophabmixay in very unfavorable one-on-one situations. In the 38th minute, he continued to impress the Vietnamese fans at the Laotian National Stadium with a perfectly timed save, rushing out of the penalty area to clear the ball like German goalkeeper Neuer, preventing a goal after a teammate's header went wide.

A one-goal lead was too precarious. Therefore, during halftime, coach Hoang Anh Tuan instructed his players to increase their attacking pressure in order to widen the gap. Everything went smoothly for the Vietnam U19 team; just six minutes after the referee blew the whistle for the second half, they doubled their lead. Following a through pass from Trong Hoa, Duc Chinh raced down the wing, dribbled past captain Phommathep, and shot the ball against the crossbar before flying into the net, leaving goalkeeper Paseauth helpless.

Vietnam U19 is just one match away from winning the championship. (Photo: Trung Kính)

In the group stage, Duc Chinh was unlucky in front of goal. Despite being given numerous opportunities by his teammates, the player from the PVF academy only managed two goals, one of which was from a penalty. However, in the semi-finals, Duc Chinh rediscovered his scoring touch with a hat-trick against U19 Laos. After scoring the second goal to make it 2-0, the striker wearing number 4 continued to beat goalkeeper Paseauth in the 58th and 83rd minutes, taking the lead in the "Top Scorer" list of the U19 Southeast Asian Championship.

After defeating host nation Laos U19 4-0, Vietnam U19 secured their place in the final. Coach Hoang Anh Tuan's team will face Thailand U19 in the final on September 4th, having beaten Malaysia U19 5-0 in the first semi-final.

Thailand U19 is in excellent form, having won all five matches. The team from the land of the golden temples has the most effective attack in the tournament, having scored 23 goals. Meanwhile, Vietnam U19 has the best defense in the tournament, having not conceded a single goal.

According to VNE