Yangon: AFC President Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa has praised the Qatar team for their maiden victory in the AFC U-19 Championship in Myanmar.

Qatar defeated DPR Korea 1-0 in the final of the championship, in what was the West Asians’ second win over their rivals in the same competition following their 3-1 victory in the group phase.

Qatar were unbeaten in the tournament, and Shaikh Salman believes that the side showed great promise and quality during such an impressive campaign.

The AFC President stated that the Qatar side has what it takes to succeed at a higher level and hopes that this group will be well prepared for the future. The AFC President believes that the Qatar Football Association has laid the right foundation for its youth teams and hopes that it will reap great rewards in the coming years.

Shaikh Salman also praised DPR Korea saying they grew in stature over the course of the competition, and relayed his belief that the East Asians can greatly improve as they already have the fundamentals to be a competitive team on the international stage.

Qatar and DPR Korea will represent Asia at next year’s FIFA U-20 World Cup in New Zealand together with Myanmar and Uzbekistan. The AFC President spoke of his confidence of the teams’ chances at next year’s tournament although it came with a reminder that preparations should begin as soon as possible.

Shaikh Salman also thanked the Myanmar Football Federation for hosting the AFC U-19 Championship, and paid tribute to the Local Organising Committee for their effort and cooperation in ensuring a successful competition.

He also lauded the Myanmar fans for making this tournament a grand success saying this edition of the competition broke all attendance records in AFC’s age-group competitions.