Vietnam stopped at the semi-finals of U19 Asia

Facing a much stronger opponent, U19 Japan, on the evening of October 27, coach Hoang Anh Tuan and his team suffered a 0-3 defeat.

Both Vietnam and Japan entered the semi-finals with their own excitement. While coach Hoang Anh Tuan and his team were excited about winning tickets to the 2017 U20 World Cup, their opponents were also eager to change history. Japan had reached the semi-finals 14 times and the final six times, but had yet to reach the U19 Asian Cup throne.

However, the excitement quickly left the Vietnamese players, replaced by mistakes, fatigue and tension throughout the match. In the 6th minute, their net was blown up by Kishimoto Takeru's right-footed flick from close range. In this situation, the Vietnamese defense played loosely, allowing two Japanese players - including Takeru - to be in a comfortable position to score the opening goal.

Defensive errors continued to occur. In the 10th minute, Tien Dung dived to push away a free kick, which bounced back and was passed to Shunta Nakamura, who finished to double the lead. The red shirt defenders were once again slow, allowing their opponents to freely coordinate and score.

The early goal helped Japan play easily. Photo: AFC.

The two early goals left coach Hoang Anh Tuan's players in a state of confusion. They were used to playing defensive counter-attacks, so they could not switch to attacking. If they were not careful, this could easily lead to a breakdown. The main striker Ha Duc Chinh could not play due to suspension, which also made Vietnam's attacks lack vitality. Therefore, they did not have a single shot in the rest of the first half.

On the other hand, Japan played comfortably, although their lineup was not at its strongest. If it weren't for Tien Dung's excellent performance, Vietnam's net would have been blown up a few more times. In the 24th minute, the Thanh Hoa goalkeeper dove to block Kishimoto's left-footed shot. Four minutes later, he guessed the right direction to block Hatsuse's penalty kick. In the 35th minute, Hatsuse once again tested Tien Dung with a tricky free kick.

Japan (white) is superior in playing style and class. Photo: AFC.

After the break, Vietnam showed signs of improvement. They had a few coherent attacks and approached the Japanese goal. But that only lasted a few minutes, then everything went back to normal. In the 51st minute, Tan Sinh cleared the ball, which hit Nakamura's foot and bounced back into the net, helping Japan increase the score to 3-0. That gap was enough for the Japanese team to play loosely. But even so, they still forced goalkeeper Tien Dung to show off his skills a few more times, while his teammates in the front line still could not create any opportunities.

Stopped in the semi-finals, but coach Hoang Anh Tuan and his team have the right to be proud of this tournament, when they established an unprecedented thing for Vietnamese football: winning a ticket to the U20 World Cup next year in Korea. Meanwhile, Japan entered the final to play against Saudi Arabia.

According to VNE