Singapore crush Laos 5-1 in ASEAN youth football tournament

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Brunei, April 25 (Xinhua) -- Singapore eased past Laos 5-1 in the Group B opening match of the 6th ASEAN youth football tournament on Wednesday.

Tournament favorites Singapore took a 3-1 lead in the first half and scored two more goals in the second, going atop the group.

A total of seven U-22 teams from the Southeast Asian region are competing for the trophy in the biennial tournament along with a cash prize of 20,000 Brunei dollars (15,200 U.S. dollars) for the winners, 10,000 Brunei dollars (7,600 U.S. dollars) for the runners-up and 5,000 Brunei dollars (3,800 U.S. dollars) for both of the joint third-placed teams.

Brunei are in Group A with Thailand, Myanmar and Timor-Leste. Group B includes Laos, Cambodia and Singapore. The top two finishers of each group advance to the semifinals.

The ASEAN youth football tournament was initiated by Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah back in 1997. The first tournament was won by Indonesia in 2002. Brunei beat rivals Indonesia 2-0 in the 2012 final, but conceded the crown to Myanmar in 2014. Enditem