The Myanmar U19 Team That Myanmar Fans Will Never Forget

Around this time, roughly ten years ago, there were some truly exciting moments in Myanmar football that are worth looking back on. We are talking about the events of 2014 and 2015 — the period when the Myanmar U19 team reached the semi-finals of the AFC U19 Championship, qualified for the FIFA U20 World Cup, and eventually took part in the U20 World Cup itself.

Although coach Gerd Zeise would later become a well-known figure in Myanmar football, he was not particularly famous when he first arrived in the country. When he was working with the U19 generation, he did not even have the level of support that a national youth team would ideally need.

Despite inadequate training facilities, a lack of resources, the difficult conditions that young Myanmar national teams often faced before achieving success, and limited financial support, he began building this team from the ground up.

The turning point for the U19 team came at the 2014 Brunei Sultan's Cup.

Myanmar were drawn into the same group as Thailand, the Philippines, Laos and Timor-Leste. After winning all four of their group matches and finishing top of the group, Myanmar began to attract serious attention.

They then defeated Malaysia convincingly in the semi-final before beating Vietnam in the final. That was when this young Myanmar team really began to capture the attention of football fans.

Around this period, support for the team also began to improve.

At the AFC U19 Championship, Myanmar were drawn into a group with Thailand, Yemen and Iran. They drew with Yemen, defeated Thailand and lost to Iran, finishing second in the group and advancing to the quarter-finals.

The importance of the quarter-final was enormous. If Myanmar could get past that match and reach the semi-finals, they would automatically qualify for the FIFA U20 World Cup.

There is probably no need to explain that match in too much detail. In the quarter-final against the United Arab Emirates, Than Paing scored the only goal of the game after Nyein Chan Aung created the opportunity with a determined attacking move.

Myanmar then defended for the full 90 minutes and successfully secured their place at the World Cup.

Interestingly, the following semi-final against Qatar was actually a much more entertaining match than the quarter-final, and it remains another memorable moment for fans.

At the World Cup, Myanmar were placed in the same group as hosts New Zealand, the United States and Ukraine.

Their opening match was against the United States. Myanmar player Yan Naing Oo gave the team the opening goal, but Myanmar eventually lost the match 2-1.

In the second match, Myanmar managed to keep Ukraine at 0-0 during the first half. However, due to physical and fitness disadvantages in the second half, Myanmar conceded goal after goal, eventually losing 6-0.

The final group match followed a similar pattern. Aung Thu opened the scoring with a beautiful goal, but New Zealand's superior physical strength and stamina allowed them to come back and score five goals.

Before the tournament, losing Nyein Chan Aung to injury was a major blow to the team. Another problem was the difference in quality between the starting eleven and the substitutes. The first-choice players performed at a high level, but the substitutes were clearly a step below them.

Nevertheless, there is no doubt that this generation produced a remarkable group of players, including Htet Htet Aung, Nanda Kyaw, Kyaw Min Oo, Nyein Chan Aung, Maung Maung Soe, Than Paing, Maung Maung Lwin, Aung Thu, Nan Wai Min, Yan Naing Oo, Myo Ko Tun and Thiha Htet Aung.

This was the generation that gave Myanmar football one of its most memorable youth teams — a Myanmar U19 team that Myanmar fans will never forget.

Thank you very much to everyone who stayed until the end and watched this video.