HÀ NỘI — Vietnamese defender Đoàn Văn Hậu is among eight players who could make a name for themselves in the upcoming qualifiers of the 2018 AFC U-19 Championship, according to the the-afc.com.

The 18-year-old player of Hà Nội FC competed in the Southeast Asian Games in Singapore in August. He won the best young player award for the Southeast Asian region last year.

The Thái Bình-born player Hậu is the only player on this list who has already played at an AFC U-19 Championship. He competed for Việt Nam in the AFC event in Bahrain last year.

Hậu scored a decisive goal for Việt Nam during overtime, bringing home a 2-1 victory against North Korea. He also competed in the match with United Arab Emirates in which Việt Nam tied 1-1.

After sitting out the last qualifying match with Iraq, Hậu returned in the match with Bahrain in the quarter-final and Japan in the semi-final.

Besides Hậu, the website also listed Hanis Saghara Putra of Indonesia, Mohammed Dawood of Iraq, Hiroki Abe of Japan and Arshad Al Alawi of Oman.

A total of 43 teams from across Asia will participate in the qualifiers, with 10 group winners and the five strongest group runner-up teams advancing to the finals along with the hosts, Indonesia.

The event’s qualifying stage is scheduled to take place from October 31 to November 8.

Việt Nam are in Group H alongside Macau, Laos and Chinese Taipei. This group will take place in Macau.

As scheduled, Việt Nam will meet Macau in the opening match on November 4. — VNS