U17 Vietnam bid farewell to World Cup dream: Leaving the tournament with heads held high

Vietnam U17 ended their World Cup dream after a regrettable draw against UAE U17 in the final match of the 2025 AFC U17 Championship group stage. This was a regrettable result as coach Roland's players had a resilient match but could not defend their victory with a goal conceded in the final minutes.

Vietnam U17 plays with confidence at the 2025 AFC U17 Championship (Photo: VFF)

Before entering the tournament, not many people thought that U17 Vietnam could make a surprise when falling into the group considered the most difficult of the tournament. U17 Vietnam's group gathered the top strong teams in Asia including Australia, Japan and UAE.

However, the U17 Vietnam players played with great courage against opponents who were rated higher. In the first two matches, U17 Vietnam played solid defense and counterattack and created surprises when they had two draws with the same score of 1-1.

Coach Roland's students were behind in both matches but then played calmly, not allowing the opponent to score more goals and then equalized from quick attacks.

Although they could not win a ticket to the World Cup, the performance of the U17 Vietnam players was still very impressive (Photo: Nhu Dat)

In the decisive match against U17 UAE, with a must-win situation, U17 Vietnam pushed up the attack right from the first minutes. This approach somewhat surprised the opponent and the result came in the 23rd minute when Duy Khang scored from a flank attack. Unfortunately, U17 Vietnam could not preserve the score to win when they conceded a goal in the 87th minute, when their physical strength had declined.

Although they could not open the door to the World Cup, U17 Vietnam can still hold their heads high when leaving the U17 Asian Cup. With three draws with a score of 1-1, U17 Vietnam demonstrated a clearly defined style of play, and the players also played with great courage against opponents who were considered stronger.

The current generation of U17 Vietnamese players is full of potential and can completely dream of conquering the World Cup dream at the U20 age group, similar to what Quang Hai, Hoang Duc,... have done.

Nhu Dat/VOV.VN

Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/u17-viet-nam-chia-tay-giac-mo-world-cup-ngang-cao-dau-roi-giai-192862.htm