On the evening of November 12, at Song Luu Stadium (Tu Xuyen Province, China), the U22 China team lost 0-1 to U22 Vietnam in the opening match of the 2025 U22 Panda Cup friendly tournament. Despite the failure, coach Antonio Puche of China U22 still highly appreciated the competitive spirit of his students.
According to coach Puche, the match was balanced between two teams of similar quality. The turning point came in the 81st minute when defender Wang Shiqin broke the ball in the penalty area, creating an opportunity for Pham Minh Phuc to score the only goal.
U22 Vietnam was a little luckier. Looking at the developments, the score can be 1-0, 0-0 or 0-1. Everyone saw the players playing hard. We still have shortcomings, but I am satisfied with the players," coach Puche shared.
Statistics show that U22 China controlled the ball 46% but created 6 dangerous attacks, double the U22 Vietnam. Their defensive system has improved significantly when they successfully neutralized 11 penalty area intrusion situations, with the ball-breaking rate reaching 73%.
However, the biggest problem is still the fact that the squad depends a lot on individual efforts, while U22 Vietnam shows the ability to coordinate more effectively in groups. Vietnam's pass accuracy rate reached 78%, 13% higher than China U22, and increased to 19,9% when considering the opponent's field alone.
This defeat also ended a 237-day unbeaten streak of U22 China, after two previous encounters with U22 Vietnam with a 1-1 draw (March 2025) and a 2-1 win (September 2024). China U22 squad in this year's Panda Cup is missing many key players due to injuries and a match schedule at the National Sports Festival.
On the other hand, coach Dinh Hong Vinh affirmed that the victory over U22 China helped Vietnamese players accumulate valuable experience. Compared to the two previous times participating in the Panda Cup, we have a stronger squad, to aim for the 33rd SEA Games and the 2026 U23 Asian Cup finals, he said.
U22 Vietnam will face U22 Uzbekistan at 2:30 p.m. on November 15. Meanwhile, U22 China will meet U22 Korea in the match at the same time.
