Vietnam secured a ticket to the semifinals of the 2019 ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) U-22 Youth Championship hosted by Cambodia after routing Timor Lester 4-0 on Tuesday evening.
Striker Danh Trung scored a brace before midfielder Thanh Hau and striker Xuan Tu netted Vietnam’s third and fourth goals, respectively.
The victory sent Vietnam to the top of Group A following a two-win streak, starting with their 2-1 triumph over the Philippines on Sunday.
Though the match was a one-way game solely controlled by the Vietnamese side, it was not until the 40th minute that Danh Trung scored the opening goal. Trung’s second goal came 17 minutes into the second half.
Conceding two goals, Timor-Lester’s defending line became discouraged and let Thanh Hau net Vietnam’s third goal in the 82nd minute and Xuan Tu added a fourth in injury time.
Both Vietnam, currently Group A leaders, and Thailand, the group’s runners-up, are through to the next stage of the tournament. The pair will fight each other for the top spot on Thursday.
The 2019 AFF U-22 Youth Championship is the first edition of an under-22 tournament in Southeast Asia, with the previous edition being an under-23 tourney.
It runs from February 17 to 26 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and is contested by eight teams.
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