The qualifying round of the 2021 National U-19 Football Tournament is going to conclude with three matches left for each team. The finalists from five groups are shaping up.
The qualifying round of the 2021 National U-19 Football Tournament is going to conclude with three matches left for each team. The finalists from five groups are shaping up.
The teams played their seventh matches in the qualifying round on January 25. In Group A including six teams, defending champion PVF almost booked a place in the finals after winning 2-0 against Thanh Hoa. PVF have excelled in this round. They has been the only team unbeaten in this group with six wins and one draw, currently topping the group with 19 points, five to eight points more than the second and third-placed, Hanoi and Viettel, who tied with each other in their seventh matches.
Hanoi U-19 have an advantage over Viettel in the battle to grab the remaining ticket of Group A; they have got 14 points, three points more than their rivals. Additionally, in their eighth match taking place on January 28, Hanoi are almost certain to have a win against weaker team, People’s Police. Meanwhile, Viettel are going to battle against strong PVF.
In Group B, Song Lam Nghe An U-19 are too strong compared to the other four remaining teams with 15 points, far ahead of the two teams behind, who are the host Kon Tum (five points) and Nutifood Academy (eight points). Therefore, the remaining ticket to the finals will be the competition between Kon Tum and Nutifood Academy. The 1-0 win against Da Nang in their seventh match has revived the hope for a place in the finals of Nutifood Academy. Kon Tum defeated Song Lam Nghe An, who rested many their key players for the last two qualifying matches.
In Group C, the first placed Quang Nam U-19 (17 points) and Hoang Anh Gia Lai 1 (15 points) have created a big gap with the teams behind, Binh Dinh and Dak Lak (150 points). They shared point after their 1-1 draw on January 25. It is likely that Quang Nam U-19 and Hoang Anh Gia Lai will qualify for the final round. Meanwhile, Binh Dinh and Dak Lak will have to compete for the third place in Group C to be able to join the battle with the teams from other groups for a place in the finals as the best third placed team.
Five teams of Group D, which is played in Nha Trang City, have played one match fewer than the teams of other groups due to the concurrence with V.League. In this group, Becamex Binh Duong U-19 are likely to enter the finals thanks to their streak of six unbeaten matches. The second ticket for this group is unpredictable because all the three teams placing behind Becamex Binh Duong (Dong Nai, Khanh Hoa and Saigon) are having equal chances.
In Group E including six teams, after the seventh unbeaten match, Dong Thap U-19 extended the point gap with the teams behind with 15 points. The other teams namely Binh Phuoc, Long An, Can Tho, Tien Giang and An Giang have still remained in the competition for a spot in the finals. The point gap between them is not big with only three points between second placed Binh Phuoc (ten points) and sixth placed An Gang (seven points).
An Nhien
Translated by H.N
