U16s in historic 18-nil AFC win

Vietnam tore into the Guam defence to score an impressive 18-0 win in the ongoing Asian Football Confederation U16 Championship in Hanoi.

The hosts needed not even a minute to start their scoring spree with Nguyen Duy Khiem hitting the Guam net with a straight shot.

The striker also scored twice in the second half to make it the second hat-trick of the match. The first one went to his teammate Mach Ngoc Hai. Meanwhile Bui Anh Duc was the best scorer with a poker (four goals), all in the first half.

Coach Dinh The Nam decided to give a chance to his substitutes after the interval and Tran Van Dat, Tran Minh Hieu and Vu Dinh Hai added to the tally with a double each.

It made Dat the leading scorer of the group with five goals from two matches.

The other goal scorers were Nguyen Khac Khiem, Nguyen Huu Thang, Uong Ngoc Tien and Nguyen Trong Long.

The team also rewrote Vietnamese football history by scoring the most goals in an international match.

The second win pushes Vietnam to the top of the Group J with six points, as many as Australia, who also won on September 18 after beating Myanmar 3-1 in an earlier game. The Joeys are second due to a lower goal difference.

Coach Nam said the top position is an advantage for Vietnam ahead of the last match against Australia. However, it will not be easy for his players as the Australians have a better physique and body form. “It will be 50-50 chance for both sides,” he said.

In the last round match on September 20, the host side only needs one point to book a ticket to the final round in India next year.-VNA