China U22's 0-1 loss to Vietnam U22 in the 2025 Panda Cup friendly tournament disappointed the media in this country. In particular, many newspapers also paid attention and commented on Coach Dinh Hong Vinh's confident speech.
Many major Chinese newspapers admitted that "the failure reflects the decline of Chinese football compared to Vietnam, the team is improving significantly".
A newspaper published an article with the title: "Vietnamese culture is not scary, the scary thing is the post-match words of the U22 Vietnam coach".
The article believes that China U22 failed due to a lack of many key players competing at the National Sports Festival, but also has to acknowledge the weakness in tactics and competitive spirit.
Commentator Y.Jia criticized: "The team completely does not know how to organize an attack, there are no significant highlights". Meanwhile, Ding Xu's pen straightforwardly believes that lack of people cannot be an excuse for failure.
What attracted the most attention of this newspaper was Mr. Dinh Hong Vinh's speech. When asked why U22 Vietnam won this time, he replied: "Compared to the previous two times, our current squad is better. We are not only preparing for the SEA Games but also for the U23 Asian finals next year.
This is an important match for us to prove the maturity of the team. The U22 Vietnam team has gradually become more connected, expressing the spirit and goals that the team is aiming for".
That statement, according to Chinese media, was "both admirable and a blow to the fragile pride of Chinese football".
On the social network Weibo, a series of journalists criticized the home team for being lackluster and eager, even accusing the domestic referee of being favored but still not helping China avoid defeat, including a situation where a Vietnamese player fell in the penalty area because he was pushed from behind but was not awarded a penalty.
Another news channel described China U22 head coach Shao Jiayi as knowing how to hold his breath as he watched the defeat at home.
