Vietnam through to 2016 AFC U23 finals

The resounding victory over Macau (China) secures Vietnam a spot in the 2016 AFC U23 final round.

(Credit: vnexpress.net)

Vietnam played a dominant game over the much weaker Macau team on Tuesday. Thanh Binh put Vietnam ahead after two minutes before Ngoc Thang doubled their advantages three minutes later.

After only seven minutes of play, the match was temporarily delayed for more than an hour due to heavy rain at Shah Alam in Selangor.

The downpour, which proved to be a hindrance for Macau, failed to prevent Vietnam from deploying their attacks in the remainder of the first half. The red-shirts fought to broaden the gap to six goals before the break, with Thanh Binh completing his hat-trick and Cong Phuong nailing two goals.

Macau bounced back after the interval, with their effective defence causing certain difficulties for Vietnamese strikers to score. It was not until the last few minutes of play that Cong Phuong sealed a 7-0 win for Vietnam with a magnificent curler – his third goal of the match.

On the same day, Japan edged out Malaysia 1-0 to finish on top of Group I with nine points after three games, thereby advancing into the final round as group leaders.

With a commanding victory over Macau, Vietnam finished runner-up in Group I with six points, ranking third among nine second-placed teams and securing a place in the 2016 AFC U23 final round, scheduled to take place in Qatar between January 12 and 30.

The finals will bring together 16 teams including hosts Qatar, ten group leaders and five best runner-up teams of the qualification tournaments.