Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Vientiane: Thailand will go into the 2016 AFC U-19 Championship qualifiers as regional champions after Thursday’s resounding 6-0 win over Vietnam saw them claim the 2015 AFF (ASEAN Football Federation) Championship.
Thailand, who had racked up an impressive 23 goals in their five matches prior to the final, were shutout by the Vietnamese until a minute before the half-time interval when skipper Worachit Kanitsribampen broke the deadlock with his fourth of the campaign.
The second half at the Laos National Stadium was a more one-sided affair as the Thais hit five without reply, including three in the last ten minutes, to seal their fourth AFF title in style.
Suksan Mungpao doubled Thailand’s advantage item minutes after the restart and after Ritthidet Phensawat had made it 3-0, Worachit took his individual tally to a tournament-leading six when the Chonburi attacker - who became the youngest goalscorer in Thai Premier League history when he netted against Rachaburi at the age of 17 years and 340 days - scored Thailand’s fourth with seven minutes left on the clock.
But there was still enough time for an impressive cameo from Anon Amornlerdsak, who got his name on the scoresheet with an 87th minute penalty before the Buriram United winger got his second and Thailand’s sixth on the stroke of full time.
Laos, the 2015 AFF U-19 Championship hosts, finished third after a 3-2 penalty shootout victory over Malaysia after the third-place playoff that preceded the final finished 1-1 at the end of extra-time.
Nine of the ten teams that took part in the 2015 AFF U-19 Championship in Laos have entered the AFC U-19 qualifiers, with only Cambodia not featuring in the qualifying campaign for next year’s continental youth tournament.
Thailand will host Group H of the 2016 AFC U-19 Championship qualifiers which also includes 12-time champions Korea Republic, Singapore, Northern Mariana Islands, and Chinese Taipei, who will be the ASEAN champions’ first opponents in the qualifiers, with the Thais kicking off their campaign on September 13.
A total of 43 Member Associations including finals hosts Bahrain will compete in the qualifiers and they will be divided into two zones – the West Zone which has 25 teams and the East Zone with 18 teams.
Ten group winners and five best second-placed teams will qualify for the finals while hosts Bahrain received an automatic qualification (total 16 teams).
If Bahrain finish top of their qualifying group or one of the five second best-placed teams, the next (sixth) second placed team will qualify for the final competition.
Photo: AFP