Vietnam beat Myanmar 1-0 on Tuesday in their last group-stage match of the qualifiers of the AFC U-19 Championship and have won a place in the finals of the competition, to be organized in Bahrain next year.

The young Vietnamese earned all four wins in Group G, after beating Hong Kong 3-1, Brunei 5-0, Timor Leste 2-1, and Myanmar 1-0.

They won the control in the first half of the Myanmar match thanks to their short passing and coordination in small groups.

The opening goal came in the 20th minute following a counterattack, in which striker Duc Chinh was set up in a favorable situation, cleverly neutralized the off-side trap of the rival defenders, and slotted the ball past keeper Thitsar Min.

Five minutes into the second half, Vietnam were awarded a penalty after keeper Min fouled Duc Chinh in the box.

However, Trong Dai sent the ball into the crossbar and it bounced wide of the woodwork.

Speaking after the match, Vietnam coach Hoang Anh Tuan said, “I warned my men of pressure during the match because of the importance of advancing to the finals.

“I am happy that they were of sound mind and overcame the psychological pressure of playing this away game.”

Vietnam won the only official ticket for Southeast Asia to get into the finals of the AFC U-19 Championship, while Thailand and Myanmar are waiting for the secondary chance to advance as the best of the five second-ranked squads from five groups.

Bahrain will host the finals from October 13 to 30, 2016.

With the result, the men led by coach Tuan were presented with a cash prize of VND300 million (US$13,300) from the Vietnam Football Federation, the sport’s governing body in Vietnam.

2015 can now be seen as a year of success for Vietnamese youth football in Asian tournaments.

Earlier, the Vietnamese national U-23 team secured a seat in the finals of the AFC U-23 Championship, to be held in Qatar in January.

The national U-16 team of Vietnam also grabbed a ticket to play the finals of the 2016 AFC U-16 Championship in India.

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