Viet Nam’s U23 team beat Thailand 4-0 in the last match of Group K within the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U23 Championship qualifiers at Ha Noi’s My Dinh Stadium on 26 March, securing a berth in the final rounds in Thailand next year.

Ha Duc Chinh (number 18) scores the first goal for Vietnam (Source: VNA)

Ha Duc Chinh (number 18) scored the first goal for Viet Nam in the 17th minute. From a through ball in the midfield, Chinh shot through the legs of Thailand’s goalkeeper to open the scoreboard.

In the 21^st minute, Viet Nam’s Doan Van Hau (number 5) received a yellow card for fouling on a Thai player.

Thailand pushed up their game, but made almost no serious threats against Viet Nam.

In an effort to follow the ball, Trieu Viet Hung (number 7) of Viet Nam committed a foul and got a yellow card.

The first half ended with two additional minutes and no more goals scored.

Just a few minutes into the second half, Viet Nam’s captain Nguyen Quang Hai (number 19) dribbled past four Thailand players and crossed inside the box for Nguyen Hoang Duc (number 14). Duc volleyed the ball in, netting the second score for Viet Nam in the 53^rd minute.

In the 63^rd minute, centre-back Nguyen Thanh Chung (number 16), from a free-kick, taped it in for Viet Nam, securing the third goal of the match.

In the 92^nd minute just before the end of the match, Viet Nam netted the fourth time, with substitute Tran Thanh Son (number 8) making it 4-0 via an unstoppable shot.

With the victory, Viet Nam now officially qualifies for the final round of the 2020 AFC U23 Championship with the first place of group K. Meanwhile, Thailand has a default place as the host of the 2020 AFC U23 Championship.

Viet Nam were in Group K in the qualifiers, along with Thailand, Indonesia and Brunei. Matches for the group took place at the My Dinh National Stadium in Ha Noi from 22 to 26 March.

Earlier, Viet Nam thrashed Brunei 6-0 on 22 March and defeated Indonesia 1-0 two days later.

Meanwhile, Thailand beat Indonesia 4-0 and defeated Brunei 8-0 in the pervious matches.

The biennial tournament has attracted 44 teams which have been divided into 11 groups of four. The top 16 teams will qualify for the finals in Thailand next year.

(Source: VNA)