The match between Vietnam U23 and UAE U23 in the quarter-finals of the AFC U23 Asian Championship on the evening of January 16th was incredibly dramatic. Vietnam U23 took the lead twice thanks to goals from Le Phat and Dinh Bac, but their opponents equalized immediately afterward with goals from Junior Ndiaye and Mansoor Saeed.
Vietnam U23 secured a thrilling victory against UAE U23 (Photo: AFC).
In extra time, the Vietnam U23 team showed their mettle with a winning goal from Minh Phúc, securing a 3-2 victory. This marks the first time in history that the Vietnam U23 team has defeated the UAE U23 team after six previous matches ending in draws or losses. Reaching the semi-finals is a well-deserved reward for the efforts of coach Kim Sang Sik and his players.
After the match, the UAE press expressed regret over their team's defeat, but they still praised coach Marcelo Broli and his players. The Emaratalyoum newspaper commented: "UAE U23 bid farewell to the U23 Asian Championship with regret after a 2-3 defeat against Vietnam U23 after 120 minutes."
Despite the defeat, the UAE U23 players still deserve praise for their strong fighting spirit. They showed that they were a worthy opponent for Vietnam U23.
Vietnam U23 opened the scoring in the 39th minute through Nguyen Le Phat, but UAE U23 quickly equalized through Junior Ndiaye. In the second half, Dinh Bac gave Vietnam U23 the lead in the 62nd minute, but UAE U23 leveled the score again with a powerful header from Mansoor Saeed.
The UAE U23 team only succumbed in extra time when Minh Phúc scored the decisive goal, giving Vietnam U23 the victory.
Vietnam U23 and UAE U23 engaged in a thrilling back-and-forth match (Photo: AFC).
The Albayan newspaper commented: “The UAE U23 team played quite cautiously but also had many scoring opportunities. As early as the 15th minute, the referee disallowed Mansoor Saeed's goal for a handball. In the 28th minute, the referee also denied Coach Broli's team a penalty. Then, in the 37th minute, Ali Abdulaziz's shot hit the crossbar of the Vietnam U23 goal.”
The UAE U23 team should have scored first, but unexpectedly conceded a goal to Le Phat after a cross from Dinh Bac. Despite being twice behind to Vietnam U23, the UAE U23 team equalized both times, forcing the match into extra time.
In the 101st minute, Minh Phúc capitalized on the chaos in the penalty area to score against goalkeeper Khalid Tawhid. The UAE U23 team tried to fight back in the second half of extra time, but the resilient Vietnamese U23 defense thwarted all attempts by Coach Broli's team to equalize. Thus, the UAE U23 team was unable to reach the semi-finals for the first time in the tournament's history.
Another UAE newspaper, Sharjah24, acknowledged that the Vietnam U23 team deserved the victory after a thrilling back-and-forth match. Meanwhile, the UAE U23 team had to return home with regret.
In the semi-finals, Vietnam U23 will face the winner of the match between Uzbekistan U23 and China U23 (6:30 PM on January 17).
Watch the entire 2026 AFC U23 Asian Championship Finals on TV360 at https://tv360.vn. Enjoy a smooth multi-platform experience, rewind and replay, and free Viettel 4G/5G data.
Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/bao-uae-binh-luan-khi-doi-nha-that-bai-truoc-u23-viet-nam-20260117025018446.htm
Comment (0)