Vietnam notched up a surprise 2-1 victory in their Group B opener against North Korea in the 2016 AFC U-19 Championship in Bahrain on Friday.

The Vietnamese underdogs exhibited strong confidence against their Korean rivals, who were the runners-up of the 2014 edition of the biennial international youth football championship organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for the men's under-19 national teams of Asia.

Vietnam could have taken the lead as early as in the 13^th minute, when a long shot by Van Hao hit the post.

The North Koreans, in the meantime, failed to prove their strength and hardly posed any challenge for the Vietnamese goalie. The Vietnamese defenders did a good job in neutralizing all attack attempts by the North Koreans.

Striker Ha Duc Chinh scored the opener for Vietnam with a skilful header in the 70^th minute. As the North Korea players struggled to equalize, Vietnam extended its lead to 2-0 in the 90^th minute.

When it was seconds before the game ended, Ryang Hyon Ju grabbed the consolation goal for North Korea.

Video courtesy of FOX SPORTS 2

Vietnam will face the UAE, considered the strongest of Group B, in the second game at 8:30 pm on October 17.

The AFC U-19 Championship, now in its 39th edition, is scheduled to be played between October 13 and 30, with a total of 16 teams.

As in previous editions, the 2016 tournament acts as the AFC qualifiers for the FIFA U-20 World Cup, with the top four teams of the Barhain tournament qualifying for the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup in South Korea as the AFC representatives.

If South Korea, qualified automatically as hosts, is among the top four teams, the fifth-placed team will also qualify for the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup.

Qatar are the holding champions.

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