Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Hanoi: Hosts Vietnam made a positive start to their 2016 AFC U-16 Championship qualifying campaign with a 5-1 win over Myanmar but it was Australia who laid down the early marker with the Joeys hammering Guam 14-0 as Group J kicked-off at the Vietnam Youth Football Training Centre on Wednesday.
The already daunting prospect of facing the vastly more experienced Australians - who prepared for the qualifiers at the annual Lafarge Foot Avenir tournament where they played their USA and France counterparts as well as the U-19s of French first division side Stade Rennais - was made that little bit harder for the Pacific Ocean islanders with just five minutes played when an Xavier Naputi own goal gifted the Joeys an early lead.
Ten minutes after the unfortunate Guam midfielder’s error, Rahmat Akbari became the first Australian to get his name on the scoresheet before the Queensland Academy of Sport forward was joined by skipper Antonios Martis (39th), Mirza Muratovic (43rd) and Jaidon Seldon (45th) as a late flurry saw Tony Vidmar’s side take a 5-0 advantage into the half-time interval.
The Joeys sprung into action immediately after the restart with Akbari scoring his second and Australia’s sixth barely 60 seconds after Singaporean referee Ronnie Koh Min Kiat had signalled the start of the second half before Muratovic completed his hat-trick with goals in the 53rd and 59th minutes.
Ahmed Sweedan scored the first of his hat-trick from the penalty spot in the 65th minute and just five minutes later Andrew Visaglio took Australia into double figures as the goal deluge continued unabated.
Ryan Yates netted number 11 in the 77th minute before Sweedan completed his treble, scoring the Joeys’ 12th and 14th goals in the 79th and 90th minutes respectively either side of Seldon’s second in the 80th minute.
In Wednesday’s later fixture Tran Van Dat also scored a hat-trick as the Group J hosts eased to a 5-1 victory over Myanmar.
Van Dat opened the scoring in the 25th minute before Nguyen Khac Khiem made it 2-0 to Vietnam just four minutes later.
Aung Chit Oo Koo Koo ensured that the hosts two-goal advantage lasted barely 60 seconds as the Myanmar forward reduced the deficit on the half-hour mark but just three minutes later the Vietnamese extended their lead once again as Nguyen Huynh Sang gave the home side a 3-1 cushion to take into the break.
After the interval Van Dat found the net in the 68th and 76th minutes to seal Vietnam’s win and become the third player in Match Day 1 of Group J to score a hat-trick following Muratovic and Sweedan’s trebles against Guam.
Ten group winners and four best second-placed teams will join DPR Korea, who topped the already concluded Group H, and India in next year’s finals, with the tournament hosts receiving an automatic qualification.
Should India finish top of their qualifying group or among the four best second-placed teams, the fifth best second-placed nation will qualify for the final competition.