Vietnam forward top goalscorer at U19 AFF Championship

By Hoang An July 15, 2022 | 05:45 pm PT

Nguyen Quoc Viet (R) celebrates a goal in the U19 AFF Championship match between Vietnam and Myanmar on July 8, 2022. Photo by Vietnam Football Federation

Vietnamese striker Nguyen Quoc Viet has become the top scorer in the U19 AFF Championship after scoring five goals in six games.

The 19-year-old started with a brace of goals in the second group match against Philippines to help Vietnam win 4-1. He then netted two more in Vietnam’s 3-1 win against Myanmar.

When Vietnam faced Thailand in the third-place playoff on Friday, he scored the equalizer that took the game into penalties, where Vietnam won 5-3 to claim the bronze medal.

Meanwhile, Malaysia lifted the title after defeating Laos 2-0 in the final thanks to goals by Faiz Izwan and Aliff Izwan.

They had beaten Vietnam 3-0 in the semifinals.

Behind Viet are Hokky Caraka and Rabbani Tasnim of Indonesia and Peeter Phanthavong of Laos with four goals each.

In the past Viet has top scored in several events like the national U17, U19 and U21 championships, and people call him the "king of youth tournaments" just like superstar midfielder Nguyen Quang Hai a few years ago.

Viet has yet to play in the topflight V. League 1 or even V. League 2.

His strengths are pace, positioning and finishing, but he needs to work on ball skills, passing and heading.