Southeast Asian Newspaper: 'Wonderful U17 Vietnam'

U17 Vietnam surprise

One of the most interesting surprises of the 2025 U17 Asia took place, when U17 Vietnam excelled and forced U17 Japan to share points, the second match of Group B.

16-year-old talent Minato Yoshida opened the scoring in the 13th minute for Japan U17. However, Vietnam U17 held firm until the end of the match, and equalized 1-1 with a penalty kick by Tran Gia Bao in extra time.

U17 Vietnam had a great match. Photo: AFC

The draw with U17 Japan gives U17 Vietnam hope to win a ticket to the quarterfinals and a place at the World Cup, and also makes the scenario of Group B more unpredictable.

“Vietnam U17 once again created a surprise ,” wrote the Indonesian newspaper Bola. The newspaper praised Gia Bao and his teammates: “Vietnam U17 continued to show impressive play at the 2025 AFC U17 Championship. The team once again achieved positive results.

Vietnam U17 excellently held strong opponent Japan U17 to a draw in the second match of Group B, with the final score 1-1.

Interestingly, this is the second draw that young Vietnamese players have won at the 2025 Asian tournament. Previously, Vietnam also drew 1-1 when facing another strong opponent, Australia.

Japan U17 and Australia U17 are certainly not ordinary teams. These two teams come from countries with strong football traditions.

Gia Bao and his teammates forced the defending champions to share points. Photo: AFC

In fact, it can be said that Japan and Australia are strong candidates for the 2025 AFC U17 Championship.

With this result, U17 Vietnam continues to hope in the race for a ticket to the quarter-finals, and hopes to be present at the U17 World Cup .

Never give up

Japan U17 is considered the number 1 candidate for the championship title in Saudi Arabia. They won the last 2 times (2018, 2023), as well as holding the record of 4 wins of the U17 Asian Cup.

Thailand's Siam Sport newspaper also highly appreciated what coach Cristiano Roland and his team did against U17 Japan, a team that always reached at least the round of 16 in the last 5 World Cups they attended (4 times in the round of 16; 1 quarter-final).

"U17 Vietnam did not give up, with a comeback to equalize with Japan 1-1 in the extra time of the match" , Siam praised the spirit shown by coach Cristiano Roland's team.

U17 Vietnam showed commendable spirit. Photo: AFC

Siam Sport mentioned: “The draw helps U17 Vietnam maintain the opportunity to win a ticket to attend the World Cup in Qatar later this year.

Meanwhile, another representative of Southeast Asian football, Indonesia, has secured a ticket to the next round as the top of the group.

In this match, Japan U17 took an early lead with a header from Minato Yoshida. As time went by, the team confidently headed towards 3 full points.

However, U17 Vietnam created an emotional moment in extra time, winning 1 point.

Currently, U17 Vietnam is ranked 3rd in Group C with 2 points, fighting UAE to win a World Cup ticket in the final round" .

While U17 Thailand suffered a heavy defeat, Siam Sport commented: "The performance of U17 Vietnam this time, as well as the success of U17 Indonesia, proves the clear development of Southeast Asian football" .

Vietnamnet.vn

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/bao-dong-nam-a-khen-ngoi-tuyet-voi-u17-viet-nam-2388807.html