Immediately after the opening ceremony, the most anticipated match took place between the two leading young football academies, U19 Hoang Anh Gia Lai 1 and hosts U19 PVF.
Fielding their strongest squads, both teams were striving to claim the opener, however, despite being the better side in the first half, U19 PVF missed several chances to open the scoring, including missing a penalty in the 21st minute.
In the second half, the visitors gradually regained possession while constantly creating good opportunities. In the 64th and 69th minutes, Thanh Long ran into the box but missed both chances to open the scoring.
The two teams accepted a goalless draw after 90 minutes.
In other match in Group A, Ngoc Son’s goal in injury time sealed a narrow 1-0 victory for Ho Chi Minh City against An Giang on the same day.
Previously, two matches of Group B took place on the evening of June 19, with Becamex Binh Duong coming from behind to beat Song Lam Nghe An 2-1, while Hoang Anh Gia Lai 2 tied 0-0 with the People's Police team.
Two Group B matches will take place this evening, June 21, with U19 People's Police playing U19 Becamex Binh Duong and U19 Hoang Anh Gia Lai 2 facing U19 Song Lam Nghe An.
The eight teams in two groups will play in a round robin format to decide the top two teams of each group to enter the semis. The semifinals and finals will be played in a knockout format. The champions will walk away with the trophy and a cash prize worth VND80 million, while the runners-up will receive VND50 million and the two third-placed teams will be awarded VND30 million each.
