Football: Vietnam face difficult task at regional U19 tourney

ABO/NDO – The draw for the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U19 Championship has lumped Vietnam into Group C with three very tough opponents, including the Republic of Korea (ROK), Australia, and Jordan.

AFC U19 Championship 2018 draw.

On May 18, in Jakarta, Indonesia, the AFC held a ceremony to draw the groups for the Asian U19 finalists. Before the draw, coach Hoang Anh Tuan’s players were placed in the Pot 1 seed with the strength of Japan and Saudi Arabia, along with hosts Indonesia, after reaching the semi-finals of the tournament two years ago.

However, what should have been an advantage did not help the young players avoid what could be a group of death, with three of the strongest teams of the continent. Among them, U19 ROK are undoubtedly the strongest team, followed by U19 Australia. The three teams progressed to the U19 finals without losing a single match and ended their qualification rounds in the top spots.

However, inspired by the feat of the U23 squad in the U23 Asian finals in China earlier this year, the U19 team are expected to create another miracle, as the team are determined to re-establish the achievement of reaching the semi-finals of the tournament two years ago.

According to the schedule, Vietnam will play their first match against Jordan on October 19, before playing the remaining two matches of Group C with Australia on October 22 and the ROK on October 25.

The U19 players have gathered in Hanoi to train for the ASEAN Football Federation Championship in Indonesia from July 2-14. They are practicing at the National Youth Training Centre for several weeks before taking part in a training course in China from June 15-25.

(Source: NDO)