Striker Võ Nguyên Hoàng of Việt Nam (left) runs away from a Thai defender during their Group B match of the ASEAN Football Federation U18 Championship. Photo courtesy of VFF

HÀ NỘI — Qualification for the semi-finals of the ASEAN Football Federation U18 Championship is out of Việt Nam’s hands after a goalless draw with Thailand on Tuesday.

The team must beat Cambodia in the last match and hope Thailand defeat Malaysia or Singapore overcome Australia.

Held in HCM City, the draw puts Việt Nam in third place in the table with seven points, behind Australia and Malaysia, who both have nine points.

Việt Nam entered the game with strong determination to beat long-time arch-rival Thailand, who were are already eliminated after three poor results.

However they disappointed more than 10,000 screaming fans wasting a host of chances at the Thống Nhất Stadium.

Opportunities fell to Võ Nguyên Hoàng, Nguyễn Kim Nhật and 'little Công Phượng' Phạm Xuân Tạo but they all failed to find the net.

The second half saw Việt Nam come close but were just not enough to score too.

Thailand played stronger after the break but they too were guilty of poor finishing with goalkeeper Y E Li Ni in good form.

“The result was what I had expected,” said Việt Nam head coach Hoàng Anh Tuấn.

“Thailand are always tough rival. A draw result was worthy for both sides who missed a lot of chances. But we still have another match to play.”

Thailand’s assistant coach Boumprom appreciated Việt Nam saying Vietnamese football has a bright future ahead.

“It was a highly competitive game. And it was a keen fight between the two teams,” he told aseanfootball.org.

“Naturally, we are disappointed with the way we have performed this week. The boys seem exhausted but we will improve for the AFC qualifiers.”

In other matches yesterday, Malaysia made a bang when they beat powerhouse Australia 3-0 at the Thành Long Stadium. And Singapore improved to fourth place after a 1-0 win over Cambodia. — VNS