Many faces revealed in the final round

In Group A, all 3 matches continued to be uneven, in which both Hanoi and Viettel won their 3rd consecutive victory to secure 99% of their right to participate in the final round. U.21 Hanoi met Phu Tho, a team that, although having 3 points after the first day's victory against Dao Ha Sports Center, still could not be considered worthy of the defending champion. Possessing many prominent names such as captain Ngo Duc Hoang, winger Nguyen Anh Tu, striker Le Tri Phong, defender Nguyen Sy Duc, not to mention the talent of the U.23 Vietnam team, the best player of the U.21 tournament in 2022 Nguyen Van Truong, the U.21 Hanoi team easily won another victory.

Coach Duong Hong Son defeated the opponent with a score of 6-0, to have 9 points after 3 matches. 6 goals were scored by Trung Thanh, Tri Phong, Quang Duyet, Duc Hoang, Gian Tan and Van Tuyen.

The joy of Le Van Quang Duyet (33) of U.21 Hanoi

Similarly, U.21 Viettel also did not miss the opportunity to get 3 more points against the rookie team Dao Ha Sports Center. Although the attacking pair of the U.23 Vietnam team that just won the Southeast Asian championship, Dang Duong was on the bench and Huu Tuan was not on the registration list, coach Dang Thanh Phuong and his team continued to rain goals with a difference of 7 goals (Pham Van Phong, Nguyen Hoang Khanh scored 2 goals each, Ngoc Tu, Tung Duong and Dinh Duc scored the remaining 3 goals). It can be considered that U.21 Viettel and Hanoi will open the door to the final round.

Nguyen Hoang Khanh (28) scored a double for U.21 Viettel

Meanwhile, PVF-CAND, after the first day's defeat against Hanoi, had to set a more modest goal of aiming for the 3rd place in Group A, hoping to get 1 of the 2 tickets for the 3rd team with the best results to the final round. Coach Nguyen Duy Dong and his team only needed the first 23 minutes to easily win 3-0 against Luxury Ha Long, with goals from Pham Van Son, Nguyen Sy Manh Dung and Nguyen Hai Nam. If they get at least 1 point against Viettel in the next round, PVF-CAND's chance to go further will be brighter.

Coach Duy Dong (PVF-CAND) shares joy with his students

The main focus was the heated match in Group B between Quang Nam and Kon Tum with a surprising score of 4-1 for the Central Highlands team. Hoang Minh Tien opened the score for Kon Tum in the 14th minute, then Nguyen Sy Dan equalized for Quang Nam in the second half. But in the last 12 minutes of the match, Coach Chu Ngoc Canh's students played much better, taking advantage of Quang Nam's defense's mistakes to score 3 goals in a row thanks to Hoang Minh Tien and a double from Moses. With 5 goals after 3 matches, Minh Tien is the player with the most goals in the qualifying round so far.

U.21 Quang Nam (blue shirt) suffered a heavy defeat against Kon Tum.

In the other 2 matches in Group B, U.21 Da Nang of the duo Technical Director Phan Thanh Hung and his younger brother Head Coach Phan Thanh Duc defeated the still too young HAGL with a score of 2-0. Le Hong Duc and Tran Nhat Dong scored. Similarly, U.21 Hue of the duo Duong Cong Quoc - Le Van Truong also had no difficulty in overcoming Quang Ngai with a difference of 3-0. Nguyen Dang Khoa, Tran Van Quang and Duong Anh Vu scored. Thus, Kon Tum (9 points) and Da Nang (7 points) are holding many advantages to enter the final round, while Hue (4 points) is aiming for the 3rd ticket in the group.

Technical director, former head coach of Vietnam national team Phan Thanh Hung (wearing glasses) closely directs U.21 Da Nang

The joy of U.21 Tay Ninh after a big win over Dong Nai

In Group C at Buon Ma Thuot Stadium, Dong Nai surprisingly lost 1-4 to Tay Ninh. After a goalless first half, coach Ho Thanh Hao's team took the lead after an own goal by Le Van Dat (Dong Nai). Then Dang Gia Thien, A Vu and Phan Thanh Sang scored 3 more goals for Tay Ninh, while Cao Quoc Khanh only scored 1 goal from the penalty spot. In the remaining match, Khanh Hoa is in good form after winning the opening match against Dong Nai, defeating Gama Vinh Phuc 7-0. Captain Do Truong Tran scored 2 goals, the remaining goals were scored by Do Thanh Tai, Le Phuc Nhat Duy, Huynh Thanh Tuan, Nguyen Minh Loi and Tran Khanh Dung. In this group, Khanh Hoa (6 points), Tay Ninh (4 points) and host Dak Lak (4 points) will compete for 2 of 3 tickets to the final round.

The joy of U.21 Long An

In Group D at Thanh Long Stadium, Long An team reached the final round after a 3-1 comeback win over Can Tho. Phan Ho Khai, Bui Nguyen Chi Trung and Nguyen Cong Tuyen scored (before that Trung Hieu opened the score for Can Tho).

Meanwhile, Dong Thap led Tien Giang 2-0 after the first half thanks to captain Tran Long Hai's long-range shot and Nguyen Minh Phuong's goal, but heavy rain made the field soggy, forcing the match to be postponed for more than an hour.

Captain Long Hai scores for U.21 Dong Thap

Heavy rain flooded Thanh Long Stadium

After the rain stopped, the organizers planned to change the match to field 1 with the lights on for the second half. However, Thanh Long's field 1 was not professional enough because it was still flooded, so according to the agreement of the two teams, VFF General Secretary Duong Nghiep Khoi decided to postpone the match to the second half at 10:00 a.m. on September 9.

Some pictures of the 3rd round:

Nguyen Cong Trinh (8, Da Nang) disputes with Ho Quoc Cuong (15, HAGL)

Phan Thanh Sang (2) scored for U.21 Tay Ninh

Pham Van Phong (18) broke through and scored 2 goals for U.21 Viettel

The thrilling match between Long An and Can Tho

Hue won Quang Ngai 3-0

Coach Chu Ngoc Canh and Kon Tum team are sure to get tickets to the final round.

The joy of U.21 Hanoi with the 3rd victory

U.21 Da Nang celebrates scoring against HAGL

Khanh Hoa U.21 team (middle) easily defeated Gama Vinh Phuc

Ranking after 3 rounds

Logo of the tournament

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