Burmese Women Under-19 Soccer Team in Vietnam. |
The
defender scored the only goal of a keenly-contested qualification play-off with
67 minutes at the Thong Nhat Stadium played as Myanmar joined the top five
finishers from the last competition in the list for next year's finals.
Japan won
the 2011 AFC U-19 Women's Championship by finishing top of the six-team table
in the round-robin league tournament played at the same venue in Ho Chi Minh
City ahead of runners-up DPR Korea, third-place China, Korea Republic and
Australia, whose epic 4-3 win over Vietnam was enough for the Young Matildas to
take fifth position ahead of the hosts.
Vietnam's
hopes of a return to the AFC Women's U-19 Championship effectively ended when
they lost 2-1 to Myanmar in their opening match of the second round of
qualifiers for the 2013 tournament on December 1.
Burmese women U-19 team was in the Qualifying-Stage Group-B together with the teams from Vietnam, China-Taipei, and India. And Burma edged all three teams in the Group-B and had to play Thailand the winner of the Qualifying-Stage Group-A.
By
defeating Thailand in the Qualifying-playoff on last Sunday Burma now has taken
a historic place in the Final Tournament of 2013 AFC U-19 Women’s Championship.
Other successful teams in the Final Tournament are last-year-champion Japan,
North Korea, China, South Korea, and Australia.
The six
teams will play in a round-robin league tournament to be held in 2013. As a Burmese-Australian I will have a trouble choosing which side to support when Burmese Women Team plays the Young Matildas next year.
(Australia and South-Korea playing in 2011 AFC U-19 Women Championship.)
(Burma beat China-Taipei 3-1 in Qualifying-Stage Group-B games for 2013 Championship.)
(Australia and South-Korea playing in 2011 AFC U-19 Women Championship.)