At Lach Tray Stadium, Vietnam and Syria played cautiously, aiming for a draw that would allow both teams to advance. The match was tightly contested, with neither side creating any clear-cut chances in the first half.
A similar pattern continued through the first 30 minutes of the second half, until Syria increased the pace with dangerous attacks down the left flank. In the 75th minute, Anas Dahhan fired a long-range shot from 22 meters out on the left side. Although the ball was headed straight for him, Vietnam’s goalkeeper Pham Dinh Hai mishandled the save, allowing the ball to slip through his hands and over the bar. Moments later, from the resulting corner, the ball glanced off Youshaa Knaj’s head and then deflected off Nguyen Ngoc Chien’s head in an awkward position, finding its way into the net.
Vietnam pushed forward in search of an equalizer, but fatigue set in, limiting their chances to threaten Syria’s goal. In the first minute of stoppage time, Vietnam combined well down the right wing, with substitute Hoang Khanh playing a through ball to Hoang Minh Tien, whose shot went narrowly wide of the post.
With the 1-0 defeat, Vietnam finished second in Group A with nine points and a goal difference of +10, while Syria topped the group with a perfect 12 points.
The 2025 AFC U20 Asian Cup qualifiers feature 10 groups, with the top 10 group winners and the five best second-placed teams advancing to the final tournament, alongside host nation China. Since Group A had four teams, Vietnam’s result against bottom-placed Bhutan (a 5-0 win) had to be excluded. This left Vietnam with six points and a goal difference of +5.
In the ranking of second-placed teams, eight teams currently have six points. Iraq leads with a goal difference of +17, while Vietnam, Yemen, and Qatar are all level on +5, with Vietnam holding an advantage by having scored more goals (seven compared to Yemen’s six and Qatar’s five). India (+2) rounds out the top five with a goal difference of +4. Just outside the qualification spots are Australia (+3), Kyrgyzstan (+3), and Cambodia (-3). Meanwhile, UAE (-1) and Tajikistan (-1) are trailing with only three points.
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