Vietnam in group B of AFF U19, Myanmar the key rival

Viet Nam will start out the 2015 ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) U19 Youth Championship in Group B alongside Myanmar, East Timor, Singapore and Malaysia.

The AFF draw placed host Laos in Group A with Thailand, Australia, Brunei, the Philippines and Cambodia.

According to experts, Viet Nam's key rival in Group B will be Myanmar, a team that has earned a ticket to compete in this year's World U20 Championship.

Viet Nam won silver medals in 2013 and 2014.

This marks the 12th year of the tournament and will now be held in Laos since Indonesia, the initial host, was suspended by FIFA in May. The championship will take place from August 22 to September 4.

All 12 members of the AFF were set to play, starting off the first stage with three groups of four teams. With Indonesia's suspension, the AFF reverted to two groups of six and five teams.

Nguyet hattrick puts Ha Noi 1 back on top of the table

Veteran striker Nguyen Thi Minh Nguyet scored a hat-trick in Ha Noi 1's 4-0 victory over TNG Thai Nguyen yesterday (June 17) in the second leg of the National Women's Football Championship at the Ha Nam Province's stadium.

The defending champions dominated their rivals, who are at the sixth position in the ranking table. Their powerful frontline forced Thai Nguyen to play defensive all the time, working hard to repel consecutive attacks.

Nguyet opened the score in the 36th minute with a straight shot to the far corner and added another at the end of the first half.

Pham Hai Yen scored her goal 15 minutes after the interval and Nguyet got her hattrick just three minutes later.

The victory helped Ha Noi 1 (25 points) take back the leading position from HCM City (23 points) after just one day.

The teams will have a day off before taking part in the next round tomorrow, when HCM City will play hosts Phong Phu Ha Nam. The match will be aired live on VTV6.

The next day, bottom-placed Tao Dan will face Thai Nguyen and Ha Noi 2 will play Viet Nam Coal and Minerals.  

HCM City beat Viet Nam Coal and Mineral

HCM City defeated Viet Nam Coal and Mineral 2-0 in the second leg of the National Women's Football Championships in the northern Ha Nam Province's stadium on June 16.

HCM City players celebrate after defeating Việt Nam Coal and Mineral 2-0 in the second leg of the National Women's Football Championships on June 16. — Photo vff.org.vn

HCM City played in an attack mode during the match. In the 39th minute, young player Tran Thi Hong Linh opened the score for HCM City.

After the break, Viet Nam Coal and Mineral played for defence, but after a mistake made by them, Nguyen Thi Bich Thuy doubled the score for HCM City.

In the first leg, HCM City also beat Coal and Mineral 1-0.

With this victory, HCM City led the rankings for seven teams with 23 points, followed by Ha Noi 1 with 22 points and Phong Phu Ha Nam with 14 points.

Coal and Mineral temporarily ranked fourth with 13 points.

Seven teams are competing in a double round-robin format to determine the overall champions who will be awarded the championship trophy, gold medals and VNĐ300 million (US$14,100) in prize money.