Vietnam eliminated from 2018 AFC U-19 Championship after Australia defeat
Tuesday, October 23, 2018, 14:44 GMT+7
Vietnam had to bid early farewell to the 2018 AFC U-19 Championship after only two games as they lost 1-2 to Australia during the second group-stage game in Indonesia on Monday afternoon.
Considered the underdogs, the Vietnamese let their rivals, who have better physique and technical skills, easily control the match right from the start.
In the 36th minute, Angus Thurgate received the ball from a free kick and, thanks to the negligence of the Vietnamese defense wall, managed to comfortably nutmeg goalie Y Eli Nie, opening the scoring for Australia.
After conceding the first goal, Vietnam tried to intensify their attacks but failed to cause much difficulty for the Australian defense as their ball phases were slow and thus lacked the surprise element from both wings.
With these weaknesses, it is not surprising that Vietnam conceded another goal in the 76th minute after a counterattack from Australia.
The second goal for the young Socceroos was scored by striker Ben Folami with a beautiful kick to the far corner after Atkinson's delicate pass.
It was not until the last minutes when the Australian defenders were less concentrated that Vietnam found Australia’s net, when substitute striker Le Van Nam had a chance to face goalie Delianov to finish off a pass from teammate Nguyen Van Van.
Monday’s loss repeated the 1-2 defeat Vietnam suffered in their tournament opener with Jordan on Friday.
The second successive loss means elimination for Vietnam, regardless of their last group-stage game with South Korea on Thursday.
Before the current U-19 squad, Vietnam possessed a team full of young talents that were able to secure a historic final-eight spot at the 2016 edition of the biennial tournament.
The hopeful generation then has constantly brought Vietnam many historic achievements in the continental playgrounds, including the second place at the 2018 AFC U-23 Championship in China and the fourth-place finish at the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia.
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