Football

HÀ NỘI — Defending champions Hà Nội defeated HCM City 8-1 in the opening match of Group A in the final round of the National U19 Football Tournament.

The match was held at Tự Do Stadium in Huế City on Tuesday.

Hà Nội proved their power with a goal by Nguyễn Hữu Tuấn in the third minute.

Five minutes later, the capital team doubled their score, thanks to Lê Văn Xuân. Xuân scored his goal following a confused situation ahead of the box of HCM City.

Before the end of the first half, Xuân completed his hat-trick with two more goals in the 21st and 40th minute to help his team take a 4-0 lead.

After the break, Hà Nội continued to dominate the game and there was no improvement in the performance of HCM City.

In the 53rd minute, Nguyễn Văn Minh scored the fifth goal for Hà Nội. A little more than 10 minutes later, Xuân scored his fourth goal in the match.

In the 87th minute, the score was 8-0 in favour of Hà Nội. HCM City’s efforts to narrow the gap were repaid by a goal from Nguyễn Hữu Thường in the extra time of the second half.

In another match, hosts Thừa Thiên Huế lost to Đồng Tháp 0-2.

Hà Nội will face Đồng Tháp on Thursday, while HCM City will play against Thừa Thiên Huế.

Seven teams are competing in the final round alongside Thừa Thiên Huế. The tournament will conclude on March 15.

After this tournament, the best players will be selected for the Việt Nam U19 team to compete in the International U19 Football Tournament, which will be held in Pleiku City in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai from March 21-31. — VNS