An early brace from Nguyen Quoc Viet and a goal from Khuat Van Khang sealed three points for Hoang Anh Tuan's young stars. Vo Nguyen Hoang added one more in the second half, before Temulen and Batmunkh got two back for Mongolia to cap off Vietnam's 4-2 victory.

Vietnam normally participates at the Asian Games with the Under-23s squad with around 2-3 overage players, but in this edition, Hoang Anh Tuan's players have the youngest average age, with most of the setup playing together with Tuan since the AFC U20 Asian Cup in March.

In a group with Iran and Saudi Arabia, Vietnam's game with Mongolia is considered to be a must-win. The men in white pushed forward early on, and got the opening goal in the third minute.

Capitalizing from a mistimed clearance by Munkh-Orgil, Quoc Viet raced past the Mongolian defense and fired a shot through keeper Batmagnai's legs to bring Vietnam 1-0 up.

Mongolia played a low-block defensive game after Vietnam's opener, but could not stay strong for long. In the 32nd minute, Quoc Viet with time and space, fired a shot from around 20 meters, which was deflected by a Mongolian player into their own net.

Vietnam found their third just minutes before the break. A high defensive line by Mongolia left spaces exposed in the back, where Khuat Van Khang capitalized on a counter attack, and finished with a shot in the lower corner.

With three goals in the bag, Vietnam slowed down play in the second half. However, complacency kicked in not long after the whistle, where substitute Nguyen Thai Son lost possession in midfield, which led to a three-on-two attack from Mongolia, where Temulen's precise strike was too much for Quan Van Chuan.

Mongolia's goal brought back confidence for the men in blue, and Hoang Anh Tuan sought to renew Vietnam's attack, in hopes of putting the game to bed. Vo Nguyen Hoang, the substitute, made Tuan's wishes come true with Vietnam's fourth goal in the 64th minute.

As the match came to an end, Vietnam's defensive blunders cost them a second goal, after Van Chuan's failed clearance allowed Batmunkh to tap in the empty net.

Splendid in attack but clumsy in defense, there is still a lot to do for Hoang Anh Tuan and his men, before they face powerhouse Iran in their second match on Thursday. VNS