VietNamNet Bridge – Viet Nam has secured their ticket to the final of the Asian Football Confederation Women’s U19 Championship next year.

Vietnamese midfielder Nguyen Thi Loan (left) runs a ball away from Iranian players during their AFC Women’s U19 Championship qualification. Viet Nam top Group D with two wins. — Photo vff.org.vn

Coach Mai Duc Chung had earlier expressed his concern about his inexperienced team playing against stronger rivals.

Yet his team played their best in both matches on home turf at the Viet Nam Football Federation’s Youth Training Centre field.

Viet Nam, hosts of Group D in the qualification stage, pocketed their second win yesterday, beating Iran 2-0.

Nguyen Thi Nu opened the score eight minutes after the interval before her teammate Nguyen Thi Tuyet Ngan added another in the additional time. It was Ngan’s third goal at the event.

Last week, she scored a double in the host’s 4-0 victory over India in the opening match of the group.

Taking nearly 30 minutes to check their rival, the Vietnamese side opened the score at the 35th mark.

Ngan converted a penalty into the first goal, with a shot to the left corner. She doubled the advantage near the end of the first half.

In the second half, coach Chung made several changes, but his team maintained its domination.

Nguyen Thi Nu netted her goal at the 83rd minute, ending all hope of the Indian squad, which created more attacks, but were not sharp enough to earn a single goal.

Midfielder Ha Thi Nhai increased Viet Nam’s scoring with her goal in the first added minute when the Indian team gave up.

With six points after two wins, Viet Nam topped the group and bagged the only ticket to the final round of the continental tournament in China.

Viet Nam is the second team to qualify, following Uzbekistan, who secured their berth last month. Australia has also found their ticket, after wins over Northern Mariana Islands and Jordan in group A.

The winners of the Group C will be announced after actions organised next month.

They will join the top four teams in last year’s edition – Japan, North Korea, South Korea and China – who received a direct qualification to the tournament.

VNS