Not the time to fly

Vietnam U17 football team left the 2025 AFC U17 Championship with three 1-1 draws against Japan, United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Australia, finishing bottom of Group B.

Overall, the final result is quite regrettable because U17 Vietnam was once very close to a ticket to the 2025 U17 World Cup.

After the unfortunate draw of U17 Vietnam against U17 UAE, football fans in Southeast Asia and the continent expressed their regret, saying that the young Vietnamese players deserved a better result, especially after U17 Vietnam showed their will and courage to compete against opponents who were considered much stronger - U17 Japan and U17 Australia. Those were two matches in which the young Vietnamese players were led by their opponents and were pressured almost throughout the match. Domestic public opinion did not hesitate to praise U17 Vietnam - "the team that did not lose a single match but was still eliminated" in a group considered "full of strong opponents"...

In fact, after the regret and necessary encouragement, perhaps what the young players need most is a lesson and an understanding of their limitations compared to the continent's top youth teams - in terms of mentality, at some points; in terms of physical strength, tactical thinking and even individual technique.

At the age of 17 in particular and youth football in general, the difference in level between teams is not as big as it is shown at the national team level. Vietnam's youth and Olympic teams have defeated Iran, Australia, Qatar, Iraq, China..., even having victories that made their opponents "convinced".

Therefore, in 2025, with the Vietnamese U17 players having just left the Asian U17 Championship, the “achievement” of not losing any match should be accepted in moderation, thereby helping young players focus more on overcoming limitations, not being complacent and neglecting training. They need to find out for themselves why they cannot win instead of being elated with draws.

In 2018, we were “overjoyed” when we won the silver medal at the U23 Asian Cup, but not long after that, we had to witness the decline in performance of a series of “Changzhou heroes” at the prime of their football career. Young stars should learn from that experience to know what they have to do.

Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/chua-phai-luc-bay-bong-699654.html