HANOI, March 26 (Xinhua) -- Surprisingly whitewashing Thailand 4-0 here on Tuesday, Vietnam gained a berth to the 2020 AFC U-23 Championship finals in Bangkok.
During their final qualifying game, both Vietnam and Thailand spared no efforts to top Group K and make it to the tournament finals. Thailand decided to participate in the qualification tournament despite automatically qualifying for the finals as hosts.
In the first half, Thailand had more possession, but Vietnam created more chances, and the hosts took the lead in the 18th minute when striker Duc Chinh slotted home through the legs of Thailand keeper Nont.
Six minutes into the second half, a good run from Quang Hai saw the Vietman striker lay the ball off to teammate Hoang Duc, who volleyed home to double the hosts' lead.
Things got worse for Thailand in the 58th minute, when striker Supachai was shown a red card for a violent foul, and Vietnam took advantage of the extra man to score two more goals through midfielders Thanh Chung and Thanh Son.
The result sees Vietnam top Group K, followed by Thailand, Indonesia and winless Brunei.
Before the match between Vietnam and Thailand, Indonesia defeated Brunei 2-1 in a dramatic contest that saw Brunei miss a last-minute penalty which would have tied the game.
The qualifying tournament saw a total of 44 teams drawn into 11 groups of four teams. The eleven group winners and the four best group runners-up will qualify for the 2020 AFC U-23 Championship finals.
