HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam will face UAE in the quarter-finals of the AFC U23 Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia on January 16.

Việt Nam topped Group A with a perfect record, defeating their rivals Jordan, Kyrgyzstan and Saudi Arabia - an unprecedented achievement in Vietnamese football history.

Meanwhile, UAE finished as the runners-up in Group B, securing four points from three matches. They won 2-0 against Qatar, lost 0-3 to Japan and drew 1-1 with Syria.

 

UAE are a familiar opponent for many young Vietnamese football teams, although the current U23 squad have had limited opportunities to face them in the past two years.

The UAE team feature six naturalised players: Leonard Offoe Amesimeku, Solomon Sosu and Richard Akonnor from Ghana; Junior Salif Ndiaye from France; Adli Mohamed from Bahrain; and Hazem Mohammad Abdullah Abbas from Jordan. However, their performances in the group stage were not particularly impressive.

The quarter-final match between Việt Nam and UAE is scheduled to take place at 10.30pm on January 16. — VNS