U20 Palestine won 2-1 against U20 Vietnam in the second match of Group C of the 2027 AFC U20 Asian Cup qualifiers, thereby getting the first 3 points in the journey to compete for a ticket to the next round.
After the match in Viet Tri on the evening of September 3rd, U20 Palestine head coach Sajed Karakra highly appreciated the home team's performance. He said that the fact that both teams lost in the first match made the confrontation tense from the first minutes.
Right from the start of the match, I knew this would be a difficult match. U20 Vietnam is a strong team, with uniform quality and playing at home. Both teams lost their opening matches, so they entered the game with the mindset of having nothing left to lose," coach Sajed Karakra shared.
U20 Palestine opened the scoring first, but U20 Vietnam quickly increased the pressure and equalized 1-1 in the 67th minute thanks to Nguyen Quoc Khanh.
According to coach Karakra, the ability to maintain concentration helps U20 Palestine overcome difficult times after being equalized.
My players played extremely focused and showed determination in every moment. Even when it was equalized, the whole team still did not lose their composure. The result of that perseverance was the decisive goal and overall victory," Mr. Karakra said.
The Palestinian coach also praised U20 Vietnam a lot. He assessed that the young players of the home team have speed, technique and maintain their fighting spirit even when they are behind.
They are all very young, possess speed, technique and do not reveal many weaknesses. Despite being led, U20 Vietnam still persistently attacked, determined to find an equalizer and finally did it," coach Karakra commented.
U20 Vietnam continued to create notable opportunities after the equalizer. In the 74th minute, the home team hit the crossbar but could not take advantage of the opportunity to take the lead.
Just a few minutes later, U20 Palestine took advantage of the space behind Vietnam's defense. In the 83rd minute, Zaki Hamade escaped to receive a through ball and then finished technically, defeating goalkeeper Phan Dinh Bach, sealing a 2-1 victory for the away team.
U20 Palestine played with all their best. We appreciate every ball, trying to take advantage of every smallest opportunity to get the victory today," coach Sajed Karakra said.
After two matches, U20 Palestine has 3 points and continues to maintain the opportunity to compete in Group C. Meanwhile, U20 Vietnam has no points and will meet U20 Iran in the final match on September 6.
