On the night of April 7 (Vietnam time), U17 Vietnam surprised everyone when they held U17 Japan to a 1-1 draw in the second match of Group B of the 2025 U17 Asian Cup finals. Tran Gia Bao scored the equalizer to seal the 1-1 draw for U17 Vietnam in the 90+5 minute.
With this draw, U17 Vietnam temporarily ranked 3rd in Group B with 2 points after 2 matches and still has a chance to continue to the knockout round as well as win a ticket to the 2025 U17 World Cup finals. We need to have a good result in the next match against the UAE to be in the top two teams in Group B.
Talking to Lao Dong, commentator Quang Huy said that the draw with Japan was an unexpected success. However, this is also the result of a determined team, following the coach's tactics.
Before the match against Japan, I thought a defeat with a narrow gap was very good, I could not imagine a draw. In particular, Japan scored early and played very proactively. It can be said that they play with the mindset of " anyways beat Vietnam". But football is always unpredictable. In what could be called the final notable situation of the match, the Japanese defender made a mistake.
Gia Bao seized the opportunity and calmly defeated the Japanese goalkeeper on the penalty spot. With this draw, it once again showed that coach Roland's students were very steadfast in their tactics even though the situation where U17 Vietnam had a penalty was more or less a victory when the opposing team made mistakes and lost focus.
Looking back at the whole, U17 Vietnam played very focused and U17 Vietnam was rewarded with a penalty. It was lucky but worth it when the whole team played bravely and had calculations.
In the first match, facing Australia was a very strong test. The match against Australia is also the threshold that trains the players to endure better against Japan. It is true that playing against Japan, the steadfastness in playing style is pushed up. When they lose, they are not in a hurry, the team chooses the right time to create a highlight.
The whole team determined that this match would be close to the end, limiting the number of you lost to calculate for the next match against the UAE. In the context, just kick firmly, limit the number of goals. When there is a chance, it will expand to avoid wasting efforts to chase the ball, ”said commentator Quang Huy.
U17 Vietnam still has the final match of the group stage against the UAE. Commentator Quang Huy hopes that the U17 Vietnam players will not be subjective after having had two draws against strong opponents such as Australia and Japan.
“Stone with UAE is still playing with the mind like when kicking with Australia and Japan. Please learn from the last two matches to correct mistakes and improve your advantages. The approach to the match when meeting the UAE is still safe and choosing the time to blow. If we think we have two Australian and Japan draws that we can play with the UAE is wrong. We need to choose the right time.
The UAE has better technical and physical qualities than Vietnam. But Vietnam is more disciplined and willing to endure. The UAE and many West Asian teams always play against Southeast Asian teams in the top flight. Vietnam is ready to squeeze down to wait for the time to unleash the blow.
Your patience is better than theirs. If we can promote it, we can make a difference against the UAE. Playing 2 matches with 2 points is very fun and I am very confident in the path I have chosen. But let's play with the spirit that in this match, we have to win, win with tactical strategy."
The match between U17 Vietnam and U17 UAE in the final round of Group B of the 2025 U17 Asian Cup finals will take place at 10:00 p.m. on April 10 (Vietnam time).
