Vu Duc
Midfielder Nguyen Cong Phuong hit a double and efforts from Hoang Thanh Tung, Nguyen Van Toan and Le Van Son gave Vietnam a memorable victory.
Before the game, Australian coach Paul Okon said that his team were stronger, fitter and taller and was confident of victory despite admitting Vietnam would be a tough challenge, and so it proved.
Australia had an array of young stars who play across Europe including Callum Elder, who is at Leicester City, Ikonimidis (Lazio), Jordan Lyden (Aston Villa), Peter Skapetis (QPR), Rafa Jimenez (Villarreal), Daniel Nizic (Burney) and Jake-Adelson (Everton) in their line-up.
Meanwhile, French coach Graechn Guillaume of Vietnam beforehand was worried about the fitness of his players. He also highlighted weaknesses in defense with central defenders making crucial position and distance mistakes in recent games.
The Vietnamese side wore black armbands during the match against Australia to commemorate General Vo Nguyen Giap who passed away on October 4. There was also a minute of silence to commemorate the beloved General.
It was perhaps fitting that Vietnam as underdogs once again punched above their weight. It was Guillaume’s boys who started well and Phuong shocked the Aussies when he slotted home after just eight minutes thanks to Nguyen Tuan Anh’s pass. Tung made it 2-0 in the 16th minute with a terrific strike before Toan easily beat Australian goalie Nizic in the 44th minute. Skapetis pulled one back for Australia right on half-time.
Phuong made it 4-1 in the 54th minute from a quick counter-attack. To seal the deal after substitute Lam Ti Phong was upended in the box Van Son made no mistake with his 70th minute spot kick.
With a third victory, Vietnam secured top spot in Group F on nine points. Earlier, Vietnam routed Taiwan 6-1 in their opener on Thursday and Hong Kong 5-1 on Saturday.
Australian finished second on six points after a 7-0 win over Hong Kong and 3-0 victory against Taiwan.
The Asian U-19 qualifying round has nine groups, with Vietnam in group F. The nine group winners; five from West Zone and four from East will book a ticket to the October 2014 finals alongside the six best-placed runners-up and hosts Myanmar.
The AFC U-19 Championship also serves as qualifiers for the FIFA U-20 World Cup with the top four sides of the 2014 edition booking a place at New Zealand 2015.
Đăng ký: VietNam News
