Vietnam defeated Iran 2-1 to take the trophy in the final of the Thanh Nien Newspaper International in the Central Highland City of Pleiku on October 4.

Heavy rains created difficulties for the two sides who both missed chances on a slippery and waterlogged field.

After spending half an hour negotiating the ground, Huu Khoi opened the scoring for the host with a rapid shot. The strikers took a pass from the right wing and tapped the ball through two Iranian defenders to beat goalie Hossain.

The substitute goalkeeper then had to work hard to resist Vietnam\'s consecutive attacks. Nguyen Canh Duong nearly made it 2-0 for the host in the last minute of the first half but his straight shot was denied.

Iran equaled it in extra time when Jahan Khalil scored a goal into the high corner of Vietnamese keeper Thanh Diep. It was Vietnam’s second goal loss in the tournament. The first was during their 2-1 victory over Qatar’s U17 Aspire Academy in the group stage.

Coach Nguyen Quoc Tuan made changes for the second half and his players were encouraged to attack more frequently in order to dominate their bigger rivals.

In his third attempt, midfielder Nguyen The Hung raised the score to 2-1 for Vietnam from a beautiful shot in the 59th minute. His 30m banana kick was difficult for Hossain, who had made the mistake of moving too far from his goalmouth.