Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam have earned a slot to compete in the final round of the AFC U-16 Championship 2018.
Vietnam lost to Australia 1-3 in the final Group I match on September 24, and now rank second in the group.
[Vietnam loses 1-3 to Australia in AFC U16 qualifier]
There are 45 teams taking part in the qualifier, divided into 10 groups.
The 10 group winners and five best second-placed teams will join hosts Malaysia in the finals.
Nine groups have completed their performance. As the hosts Malaysia rank fourth out of five best second-places teams, the event’s organisers will choose six best second-placed teams.
Vietnam are now fifth in the five best second-placed teams.
Regardless of the result of Group H, the last group qualifier, featuring the Republic of Korea, China, Myanmar and the Philippines, which will start in Yangon on September 25-29, Vietnam will still qualify for the finals.
In the Southeast Asia region, besides Malaysia and Vietnam, Thailand (Group G’s runners-up) and Indonesia (winner of Group G) have confirmed their spots at the finals.
The AFC’s final round will be held in Malaysia from September 20 to October 7. The four teams competing in the semi-finals will get slots to compete in the FIFA World U-17 Championship 2019’s final round in Brazil.-VNA