Vietnam shrugged off a slow start to kick off their AFC U17 Asian Cup Saudi Arabia Group C campaign with a 1-0 win against Yemen yesterday while Korea came from behind to salvage a point against the United Arab Emirates as the sides shared a 1-1 draw in their opening tie.
In Group C Australia were at their clinical best to secure a 4-0 win against India.
Dau Quang Hung struck the winner in the 77th minute as Vietnam boosted their knockout stage hopes while Yemen were left to ponder why they were left empty handed after having had their fair share of chances.
Both sides went into the tie seeking a positive start after their 2025 campaigns ended in the group stage with Vietnam enjoying a better start.
The Southeast Asian side applied the early pressure but it didn’t take Yemen long to begin dominating, with Saber Al Nuaimi’s right-footed shot from the centre of the box blocked in the fifth minute.
Tran Hoang Viet had a glimpse at goal three minutes later but failed to get his attempt on target.
Both sides had chances after that but neither could make them count with Ahmed Aljedy’s attempt from outside the box in the 25th minute which was comfortably saved by Vietnam custodian Ly Xuan Hoa the closest to a goal as the teams went into the break on level terms.
Yemen started the second half on the front foot and had a look at goal in the 52nd minute but Abdulrahman Al Qufaili’s attempt from the right sailed just wide.
Vietnam gradually began to see more of the ball and registered their first shot on target three minutes later but Chu Ngoc Nguyen Luc’s shot from outside the box was easily fielded by Yemen goalkeeper Wessam Al Asbahi.
A similar pattern was seen in the 60th minute, with Nguyen Ngoc Anh Hao’s attempt also failing to find a way past the Yemen custodian.
Yemen tried to regain their foothold on the match but Ali Shafeq Al Wesabi wasted a chance in the 66th minute, with his right-footed shot from outside the box missing the target.
Vietnam’s positive approach finally drew dividends in the 77th minute when Quang Hung coolly collected Chu Ngoc Nguyen Luc’s cross and struck the ball sweetly into the bottom left corner.
Vietnam play Korea next on Sunday while Yemen will seek to rebound against United Arab Emirates.
Meanwhile, UAE shocked Korea by going ahead in the eighth minute when Butti Khamis controlled Abdelrahman Al Awani’s high ball into the box ahead of custodian Moon Yuno and turned the ball in from an acute angle.
Korea, seeking to respond immediately, then laid siege at the UAE goalmouth with multiple chances to draw level the score but Kim Ji-woo dragged his shot wide while Kim Ji-ho’s glancing header missed the target.
At the other end, Moon was called into action again in the 21st minute, readjusting his position well to tip away Abdulla Al Ameri’s deflected shot from inside the box.
There were further opportunities for Korea before half-time through Ahn Sun-hyun, who had a shot saved by Joshua Bentley before firing wide a rebound as UAE held onto their lead going into the break.
The East Asian side came out for the second half determined to put the UAE defence under pressure as Ji-woo flicked an effort narrowly wide while long range strikes from Lee In-woo and Choi Min-jun were thwarted by an alert Bentley.
Against the run of play, UAE missed a chance to double their advantage in the 65th minute when they had a two versus one situation but Jayden Adetiba opted to shoot instead of squaring to Salem Gamal for the tap-in.
That was to prove costly for the UAE as Korea’s persistent attacks eventually paid off in the 88th minute as Choi sent a long diagonal pass to Ahn, who produced immaculate control to set himself up for a low strike past Bentley at the near post to salvage a point for his side.
Meanwhile, Australia’s win puts them in a comfortable position in the three-team Group C with India needing victory against Uzbekistan on Sunday to stay in contention for a knockout stage spot.
Australia could not have asked for a better start as they opened the scoring in the fifth minute when Archie Mitchell’s low cross from the left trickled to the centre to be swept home by Luke Becvinovski.
India had a chance to restore parity just two minutes later when Azlaan Shah was put through into the box but could not find the composure in his effort, sending the ball into the side netting.
Rajrup Sarkar then pulled out two fantastic acrobatic saves to push away Oliver O’Carroll’s strike from range before tipping away Emile Katrib’s header with a reflex save to his left.
The India custodian, however, could not prevent a second in the 30th minute when Max Court converted from 12 yards after Moosa Ashiq had tripped Akeem Gerald in the box.
There was more attacking intent from India at the start of the second half with Gunleiba Wangkheirakpam heading wide from close range before Wangkhem Denny forced a save off Charlie Wilson-Papps.
At the other end, Becvinovski’s wicked free-kick from the right in the 66th minute saw Miles Milliner rising highest to get his head to the ball but the defender’s effort sailed just over the bar.
Another chance went begging for India when Raj Singh nodded a rebound wide after Wilson-Papps had saved Azlaan’s initial strike.
The miss came back to haunt India in the 74th minute as Australia went further ahead through a deflected Luka Demuth shot from the edge of the box that wrong-footed Rajrup with Henrique Oliveira completing the emphatic win 12 minutes later following a mazy run from the right.
