Vietnam forward top scorer of U19 AFF Championship

Viet scored a double in the second group stage game that helped Vietnam win 4-1 against Philippines. He then netted another two goals in Vietnam’s 3-1 win against Myanmar. When Vietnam faced Thailand in the third-place playoff on Friday, Viet was the one who scored the equalizer to make it 1-1 and took the game to penalty shootout, where Vietnam won 5-3 and claimed the bronze medal.

While Vietnam won third place, Malaysia lifted the title after defeating Laos 2-0 in the final thanks to goals by Faiz Izwan and Aliff Izwan. Before winning the title, Malaysia beat Vietnam 3-0 in the semifinals.

Following Viet are Indonesia’s Hokky Caraka and Rabbani Tasnim, and Peeter Phanthavong of Laos. The player who scored the second-most goal for Vietnam is captain Khuat Van Khang with three goals.

This is not the first time Viet became the top scorer in a tournament. He has done that many times at the national U17, U19 and U21 competitions and people called him the “king of youth tournaments”, just like superstar midfielder Nguyen Quang Hai several years ago.

Viet, 19, has never played at top division V. League 1 before and not even V. League 2. His strength is pace, positioning and finishing. But his individual skills, passing and heading ability still need to be improved, according to insiders.