Vietnam overwhelm Australia in 2023 AFC U20 Asian Cup opener
VOV.VN - Vietnam defeated Australia 1-0 in their Group B opening match of the 2023 AFC U-20 Asian Cup finals in Uzbekistan on March 1.
Nguyen Quoc Viet’s early goal helped coach Hoang Anh Tuan’s students play proactively for the rest of the match. Defensively, Vietnam preserved the score and won their first three points against strong Australian opponents.
After Vietnam’s goal, Australia pushed up the squad to look for an equalizer. They possessed the ball up to 67% of the first half, but found it hard to score a goal, including a close-range header by striker Gabriel Popovic that could not defeat goalkeeper Cao Van Binh.
With three points on hand, Vietnamese players look confident in their next clash with Qatar U20s on March 4.
Vietnam are in Group B alongside Iran, Australia, and Qatar in the tournament's finals.
Sixteen squads are competing in the tournament, namely Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Japan, Jordan, the Republic of Korea, Indonesia, Oman, Tajikistan, Iran, Australia, Vietnam, Kyrgyzstan, China, Iraq, and Syria.
Among Vietnam's rivals in Group B, Qatar won the tournament in 2014, Iran triumphed for four times (in 1973, 1974, 1975 and 1976), while Australia were the runners-up in 2010.