Chinese expert: "Our players' skills are 20 years behind U22 Vietnam's"

(Dan Tri) - Chinese sports expert Dong Lu frankly criticized coach Antonio Puche's tactics and emphasized the general backwardness of Chinese football after the 0-1 loss to U22 Vietnam on the evening of November 12.

The 0-1 defeat of U22 China against U22 Vietnam right at home at the Panda Cup 2025 has sparked a wave of fierce reactions. This is not only a defeat in terms of score, but also the culmination of a series of consecutive poor results of Chinese teams at all levels when facing Vietnamese football.

Chinese media and experts were in an uproar after the loss to U22 Vietnam in the opening match of the 2025 Panda Cup (Photo: QQ).

Chinese analysts and media have moved away from the "excuses" attitude and have turned to fierce internal criticism. Experts have begun to openly point out core problems such as the weakness of basic skills, outdated tactical thinking and the lack of desire of young players to compete.

Famous Chinese sports expert Dong Lu said that the defeat against U22 Vietnam is a microcosm of the backwardness in Chinese football culture.

"Who is in charge of Chinese football? An invisible net, an invisible force and an invisible hand. Chinese football culture is the culture of primitive society, from coaches to fans," Dong Lu wrote on his personal page.

This shocking comment shows the extreme dissatisfaction of Chinese experts with the lack of professionalism, backwardness, and hidden forces that are dominating the country's football.

According to Dong Lu’s analysis, it is this toxic environment that has ruined the development, preventing the Chinese team from moving forward. This accusation raises big questions about the transparency, professionalism and management model in the national football system, thereby explaining why they continuously fail against regional rivals like the Vietnam team.

Chinese football experts believe that the country's football is being dominated by underground forces (Photo: CFA).

This expert emphasized that even coach Antonio Puche was in a dilemma due to the contradiction in the country's football culture. According to Dong Lu, social and media pressure had already shaped the result of the match against U22 Vietnam.

In this match, even if coach Antonio wins by playing long balls, he will still be criticized. Dong Lu believes that the 0-1 defeat of China U22 in the Panda Cup comes from the wrong decision of coach Antonio, who tried to change the playing style to impress.

“China U22 is very stingy in playing long balls, they only use short passes. Antonio initially wanted to show off in front of the Vice President of the Chinese Football Association but he completely failed,” Dong Lu commented.

Before the shocking 0-1 defeat against U22 Vietnam, U22 China under coach Antonio Puche had an impressive 11-match unbeaten streak, affirming its position as a team that is not easy to defeat.

The defeat against U22 Vietnam ended U22 China's 237-day unbeaten streak (Photo: CFA).

The defeat at the Panda Cup 2025 therefore not only ended the impressive streak of matches but was also a huge shock, completely going against the previous head-to-head record and stable form of the team from the billion-people country.

Dong Lu bluntly stated: "Chinese football has no advantage over Vietnamese football. With the skills of Chinese players, I think we need 20 years of training to catch up with the current level of U22 Vietnam."

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/chuyen-gia-trung-quoc-ky-nang-cau-thu-chung-ta-kem-u22-viet-nam-20-nam-20251113144023564.htm