U17 Vietnam grows up from pressure
U17 Vietnam shows clear progress at the 2026 AFC U17 Championship. Through matches against U17 Yemen, U17 Korea and U17 UAE, coach Cristiano Roland's team showed a clear playing style, diverse attacking organization ability, especially in situations of rapid status change and good opportunity utilization.
According to AFC statistics, U17 Vietnam is in the group of 3 teams with the best chance conversion efficiency in the tournament with a rate of 25%. This number reflects the efficiency in finishing, especially when not creating too many chances compared to the opponent.
Another change of U17 Vietnam is the competitive mentality. Against U17 UAE in the decisive match, although conceding a goal after only a few tens of seconds, Sy Bach and his teammates still calmly deployed the game. The players were not drawn into the opponent's fast-paced playing style but continued to coordinate short balls and control the game.
This is also a big difference compared to U17 Vietnam themselves a year ago, when the team often lost the game after times of being pressured by the opponent.
Under the guidance of coach Cristiano Roland, U17 Vietnam is building the image of an organized team and ready to put pressure when necessary. This once helped the team defeat U17 Australia 2-1 in the U17 Southeast Asian semi-finals in April.
U17 Australia is still a big challenge
Despite losing to U17 Vietnam not long ago, U17 Australia is still highly appreciated for their physique, speed and fitness. This team has an average height of up to 1m79, belonging to the highest group in the tournament.
The ability to play aerial balls is an important weapon of the representative of Oceania. In the context that U17 Vietnam has a significantly lower average height and weight, set pieces and aerial duels will create significant pressure on the defense.
In addition to physical advantages, U17 Australia also brought to the tournament many players trained in Europe. Brighton goalkeeper Charlie Wilson-Papps, Red Bull Salzburg defender Harrison Bond or Parma striker Gabriel Lombardi are all notable factors.
However, this team also revealed many limitations after the group stage. According to statistics from AFC, U17 Australia had to receive up to 39 shots in just 2 matches. Their defense system often reveals gaps when continuously pressured, especially in the two wings and in front of the penalty area.
Australia's ability to resist pressing is not really stable. When being quickly approached by opponents in midfield, players often handle things hastily and inaccurately in the final passes. This is also the reason why they once lost to U17 Vietnam at the Southeast Asian tournament.
The match between U17 Vietnam and U17 Australia in the quarter-finals of the 2026 AFC U17 Championship takes place at 0:00 on May 17.
