Vietnam’s U.21 team midfielder Van Khai’s performance starred in Friday’s semifinal clash against Iran

Young players from Iran and Thailand Friday powered into the Thanh Nien Cup final after respectively defeating Vietnam and Singapore in the semis at Tu Do Stadium in the central town of Hue city.

Despite the score line it was a seesaw clash in which the Vietnamese team played excellent football. The home team attackers were unlucky not to score.

Iran started confidently and the Vietnamese footballers played cautiously in the early minutes.

The west Asian team had the first scoring chance after seven minutes into the match, but Iran’s striker Jalaldin Alimohammadi’s shot went wide.

The hosts fought back fiercely and had two scoring chances in the ninth and 11th minutes.

Then in the 12th minute, the host team was offered a free kick just outside the penalty area but midfielder Duc Tai sent the ball straight to Iran’s goalkeeper Shadeghi.

Ten minutes later the Iranian U.21 team attacked and Bakhtiar Rahmani challenged Vietnam’s goalkeeper Thanh Nam from 20 meters away. The ball was just centimeters above the bar.

In the 29th minute, Iran took the lead after captain Rasoul Kar used his height advantage to head home a corner from only meters out.

After the goal, the Iranian side slowed play and the host team had more chances but they couldn’t split through Iran’s defense.

The Vietnamese young men continued to play enthusiastically and launch relentless attacks in the second half.

In the 59th minute, Vietnam had a good chance; but Iran’s in form Shadeghi tipped off a close range shot by Duc Thien.

Shadeghi saved multiple times in an onslaught from Vietnamese players, and squashed a big chance when substitute Dinh Hiep only had the goal keeper to beat.

The Vietnamese players kept attacking but received the telling blow in the 75th minute when Armen doubled the score for Iran in a swift counterattack.

The second goal for Iran marked the home team’s collapse and it was easy for Salalaldin and Souroush to strike to secure a 4-0 victory for the visitors.

Vietnam’s U.21 team head coach Quoc Tan said: “I am pleased with my players. We were on level terms with Iran but my players couldn’t score. It was good for my players to play against mighty Iran. It helped them improve. I am sure my players will win the third place.”

Iran’s coach Nenad Nikolic said: “We encountered a powerful team. It was a hard match for us. Vietnamese players played beautifully. Vietnamese young stars like Duc Thien and Van Khai made good impressions on me. I believe they will become good players in the future.”

In the second semifinal, Thailand defeated Singapore 3-1 to battle it out against Iran for the championship in the final at Tu Do Stadium on Sunday.

Reported by Huu Tho