Football

Nguyễn Văn Dương of Việt Nam runs the ball away from a Myanmar player during their meet in Group I of the AFC U17 Asian Cup 2025 qualifier on October 25 in Phú Thọ Province. Photo of VFF

PHÚ THỌ — Việt Nam seek to beat Yemen in the last match of Group I to qualify for the AFC U17 Asian Cup 2025 Finals.

Việt Nam won 2-0 over Myanmar on October 25 at the Phú Thọ Province's Việt Trì Stadium.

With one win, one draw and four points, the hosts of the group are placed second behind Yemen which won both of their games and six points.

As per the rules, only 10 group winners and five best second-placed teams of the Cup qualification could advance to the finals.

After two matches, Việt Nam sit at No 8 among 10 second-place sides.

If Việt Nam defeat Yemen in the October fixture, they will top the group and automatically qualify. In case of a draw, Việt Nam still advance if Kyrgyzstan lose to Myanmar. A loss to Yemen means that Việt Nam will be ousted from the tournament.

On October 25, Myanmar, which were considered at a lower level compared to Việt Nam, played a cautious first half and were able to keep the hosts at bay with the score remaining goalless into the break.

Việt Nam, which drew 0-0 against Kyrgyzstan in their opening game, made many mistakes and missed many opportunities, struggling to dig into Myanmar's thick and tight defence.

They finally found a way through in the 69th minute courtesy of Nguyễn Văn Dương before Trần Gia Bảo made sure of the three points with his 89th minute efforts.

Speaking at the post-match conference, coach Cristiano Roland admitted players' errors but asked for sympathy from home supporters.

“My players did a good job today. This match is similar to the first one against Kyrgyzstan. Our rival played in tight defence, causing many problems for us in the first half," said Roland.

"The coaching board analyses the situation and gave out suitable solutions. We also prepared different attack plans against all rivals. We could not score in the first match but today we made it”.

The French manager added that his players were still young so mistakes were unavoidable parts of their growth and development process. They would receive all information about their rival and tactic for the next match, heading to a win in every game, including the upcoming one against Yemen.

On the other side, coach Aung Zaw Myo of Myanmar said his players made two mistakes in the whole game and conceded two goals. He regretted about the result although players gave their best efforts and spirit.

He said in two matches of the team, Yemen proved themselves a strong team but Việt Nam were a better one.

In an earlier match of Group I, Yemen came out on top in a thrilling five-goal match against Kyrgyzstan to put themselves on the cusp of advancing Cup Finals. 

Yemen players celebrate their goal in a 3-2 win over Kyrgyzstan. Photo the-afc.com

Karat Kanatov opened the scoring for Kyrgyz Republic in the 19th minute before Mohammed Wahib Al Garash struck from the penalty spot four minutes later to level the score for Yemen.

The Central Asian side retook the lead in the 39th minute, courtesy of Innan Khe, to hold the momentum going into the break.

Yemen, however, came back fighting and equalised for the second time in the 48th minute through Karem Hamdi Abdulatef.

With the score tied at 2-2, it was Yemen who had the final say with Al Garash scoring again from the penalty spot in the 71st minute. VNS