Southeast Asian newspapers praise U23 Vietnam, criticize youth football of Malaysia and Indonesia

(Dan Tri) - Southeast Asian media has had different reactions to the contrasting achievements of the U23 teams of Vietnam and Thailand compared to the U23 teams of Malaysia and Indonesia in the qualifying round of the 2026 AFC U23 Championship.

The AFC U23 Championship finals will take place from January 7 to January 25, 2026, with the participation of 16 teams including U23 Saudi Arabia (host), U23 Jordan, U23 Japan (B), U23 Vietnam, U23 Australia, U23 Kyrgyzstan, U23 Thailand, U23 Iraq, U23 Qatar, U23 Iran, U23 South Korea, U23 Syria, U23 China, U23 Uzbekistan, U23 Lebanon and U23 UAE.

The 2026 AFC U23 Championship qualifiers ended on September 9, with the U23 Vietnam and U23 Thailand teams qualifying for the final round, while two other notable teams in the region, U23 Indonesia and U23 Malaysia, were eliminated.

Reacting to this result, the ASEAN Football website, which specializes in Southeast Asian football, commented: “The Vietnam U23 team entered the 2026 AFC U23 Championship finals as the top team in Group C. The Golden Star Warriors (the nickname of the Vietnamese teams) will continue to shine at the finals in Saudi Arabia.”

Vietnam U23 team received compliments after qualifying for the 2026 AFC U23 Championship (Photo: Do ​​Minh Quan).

Similar lines were also written by ASEAN Football for the Thailand U23 team, another Southeast Asian team that has a ticket to the 2026 AFC U23 Championship: “Thailand U23 won a ticket to the continental tournament as the top team in Group F. The Golden Temple team proudly marched to Saudi Arabia.”

In contrast to the praise for the U23 Vietnam and U23 Thailand teams, newspapers in Southeast Asia criticized the unconvincing performances of the U23 Malaysia and Indonesia teams.

Malaysia's New Straits Times wrote: "Malaysia's U23 Asian Championship campaign was ruined by U23 Thailand."

“The teams nicknamed the Young Tigers only finished third in Group F with three points, while only the group winners and the four best second-placed teams in the qualifying round will qualify for the finals, to be held in Saudi Arabia early next year,” Malaysia’s leading English-language daily continued to comment.

U23 Indonesia (white shirt) was eliminated from the AFC U23 Championship early next year (Photo: CNN Indonesia).

Meanwhile, CNN Indonesia sadly said: “U23 Indonesia and Malaysia failed to qualify for the Asian Youth Championship. These two teams failed to secure the top spots in their groups or become two of the four best second-placed teams, which are guaranteed tickets to the 2026 AFC U23 Championship.”

“The failure of the U23 Indonesia and Malaysia teams is in contrast to the achievements of two other Southeast Asian teams, U23 Vietnam and U23 Thailand. Representatives of Vietnamese and Thai football have won the right to enter the final round,” CNN Indonesia added.

In addition, according to the newspaper of the archipelago country, the failure of U23 Indonesia to qualify for the U23 Asia is a step backward for the country's football.

CNN Indonesia commented: “Nearly two years ago, Indonesia U23 reached the semi-finals of the U23 Asian Cup, and at the same time, the team almost won a ticket to the 2024 Paris Olympics. Therefore, the achievement of the young team of the archipelago country in the qualifying round of the U23 Asian Cup 2026 is a step backward.”

“U23 Malaysia is in a similar situation. In the most recent U23 Asian tournament in 2024, the young team nicknamed Harimau Malaya was also present at the finals,” the same lines were written on CNN Indonesia.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/bao-dong-nam-a-khen-ngoi-u23-viet-nam-che-bong-da-tre-malaysia-indonesia-20250911011029705.htm