HÀ NỘI — Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyễn Ngọc Thiện sent a letter of congratulations to the U19 players and coaching board yesterday.

In his letter Thiện wrote that Vietnamese people were excited by the outstanding success of the U19s at the Asian Football Confederation Championship recently in Bahrain.

It was the first time a team from Việt Nam has made it to the AFC semi-finals round and booked their berth in the World Cup for U20s next year.

It was a historic victory for Việt Nam’s youth football and also a proud moment for national sport in general, and football in particular.

On behalf of the ministry Thiện congratulated and praised head coach Hoàng Anh Tuấn along with all players, assistants and officials of the squad. He hoped that they would take advantage of their discipline, spirit and effort to grab more successes in the future. — VNS