2024 ASEAN U19 Championship: U19 Vietnam defeats U19 Laos 4-1
Although there was no longer any hope of reaching the semifinals, U19 Vietnam took to the field with high determination and secured a 4-1 victory against the U19 Laos.
Coach Hứa Hiền Vinh made further adjustments to the starting lineup by including several substitute players from the beginning: midfielder Quang Dũng and forward Hoàng Anh were both featured in the starting eleven.
Compared to the previous two opponents, U19 Laos is not as highly regarded, and the play of the young Laotian team was neither very tight nor disciplined. As a result, U19 Vietnam easily exploited the gaps in their defense. In the fifth minute, Coach Hứa Hiền Vinh’s team broke the deadlock.
From a ball played down the right flank and into the penalty area, Long Vũ managed to get past Laos U19’s goalkeeper, Soulilak, and crossed the ball for Hoàng Anh to finish into the empty net. This goal allowed U19 Vietnam to play more comfortably. As in the previous two matches, Quang Dũng made his mark again with a long-range shot from about 25 meters, putting U19 Vietnam ahead 2-0. Unfortunately, in the 40th minute, Quang Dũng had to leave the field due to an injury.
After the two goals, U19 Vietnam continued to dominate the match. However, while the attack failed to add more goals, a defensive lapse in the 27th minute allowed the score to change. The Laos U19 team exploited the gaps on the left flank, with Peeter managing to break through and score past goalkeeper Đình Hải, narrowing the score to 1-2. This was the only major mistake by U19 Vietnam U19 in the match, as after that, Coach Hứa Hiền Vinh’s players tightened their defense and ensured greater security.
Meanwhile, the attack continued to press strongly. If they had taken their chances better, U19 Vietnam could have scored more than four goals.
Two goals in the second half came from Công Phương: in the 78th minute, and then in the 84th minute, where Công Phương provided a perfect assist for Văn Nam to easily score the fourth goal for U19 Vietnam.
At the end of the group stage, U19 Vietnam accumulated 4 points (1 win, 1 draw, and 1 loss), finishing second in Group B and thus exiting the 2024 ASEAN U19 Championship. According to the regulations, only one second-placed team with the best record advances to the semifinals, and the team finishing second in Group C accumulated 6 points.