Calm down and consider, what does U.17 Vietnam gain and lose by not getting a World Cup ticket?

Good match approach

It is impossible to describe the joy and happiness, mixed with the pride of Vietnamese football fans when following the journey of the Vietnam U.17 team at the final round of the 2025 AFC U.17 Championship in Saudi Arabia. The more our young talents play, the better and more confident they become. After drawing with Australia and Japan, entering the crucial match against the UAE, it was unexpected to witness the performance beyond expectations of Cristiano Roland's students throughout the 87 minutes of play.

Viet Long plays well on the border.

PHOTO: VFF

Although there was only one way to win, the U.17 Vietnam team chose a very wise approach to the match and showed a calm playing style, not at all impatient. Knowing themselves and their opponents, Dau Hong Phong, Chu Ngoc Nguyen Luc and their teammates entered the match with concentration, forming a tight formation with very stable distances. The positions on the field were always very close and supportive of each other, fiercely fighting for the ball, and when losing the ball, they immediately covered each other quickly, not panicking or losing their composure under the pressure of the UAE.

Besides, although focusing on defense, when having the ball, the counter-attacks are always very rhythmic with diverse playing skills, especially the 2 wings with Viet Long and Duy Khang. The overlapping and cutting phases continuously appearing every time U.17 Vietnam rushed forward caused a lot of difficulties for the UAE defense, making their formation chaotic. Especially the right wing with Viet Long and the participation of Duc Duy made the defense of the West Asian team unstable.

Duy Khang's joy of scoring

Photo: VFF

After missing many chances, Duy Khang finally scored from a quick pass and a sharp pass from the right wing. This goal did not come by chance, it was the crystallization of the psychological stability, the spirit of victory and the enthusiasm with which U.17 Vietnam entered the game so well. It also showed the maturity in the playing ability of a cohesive and promising team in the future.

The U.17 Vietnam players could not stand firm until the last minute.

PHOTO: VFF

That bravery was also clearly shown in the second half when they were forced to play on the field because they were a bit behind in speed and strength compared to UAE. However, the young Vietnamese players still played very calmly, still actively organizing to neutralize the opponent's attacks. Looking at the U.17 Vietnam defenders rolling each ball under the command of captain Le Huy Viet Anh and the efforts of goalkeeper Hoa Xuan Tin, we can see that U.17 was not shaken in trying to firmly protect the fragile gap.

U.17 Vietnam lost the high ball again

Yet all the efforts of U.17 Vietnam ended up in vain. Standing firm for 87 minutes, the red-shirted players collapsed because of a set-piece situation after a very quick approach from the UAE attackers. In the match against Japan, the U.17 Vietnam players also lost from a header from a corner kick. This time, too, from a free kick to the far post, the Vietnamese defense did not have enough height to jump to compete due to their modest height, allowing UAE to equalize from a very easy situation.

Duy Khang tried very hard but his physical condition was not good enough so he was replaced too soon.

PHOTO: VFF

The goal was like a bucket of cold water that broke the strong will of Cristiano Roland and his team because unlike the draws with Australia or Japan, when we were behind, our mentality was that we had a lot of motivation to rise up. But in the match against UAE, the equalizer was a situation that had the opposite effect, making the team's spirit lose its excitement. It was truly a pity that a World Cup dream that was so close then flew away so quickly.

It seemed that after the U.20, futsal and women's teams of Vietnam, now the U.17 Vietnam team would make a feat when they entered the World Cup for the first time. But all have collapsed before the gates of heaven. Anyway, thank you to Mr. Roland and his team for not being able to continue but still playing bravely, still showing a new stature for Vietnamese youth football when they proudly drew all 3 matches with very strong opponents, writing a new bright mark for Vietnamese youth football.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/binh-tam-xem-xet-u17-viet-nam-duoc-va-mat-gi-khi-khong-co-ve-world-cup-185250411001802608.htm