A historic hat trick!

FIFA, AFC, and regional media praised the resilience of the Vietnamese U23 team as they defeated host nation Indonesia 1-0 in the Southeast Asian U23 Championship final on the evening of July 29th, making history with their third consecutive championship title.

The FIFA homepage read: "Great job, lads!", accompanied by an image of the Vietnamese national flag and a clapping emoji. This was meant to congratulate the young Vietnamese players on their courageous performance in the final and their convincing victory against Indonesia at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium.

FIFA's homepage congratulates Vietnam U23 team on making history by winning the Southeast Asian championship three times.

Photo: screenshot

On the social media accounts of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and the Southeast Asian Football Federation (AFF), congratulatory messages were posted for the Vietnam U23 team: "Congratulations to the Vietnam U23 team! You have officially become champions of the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship. This is the third consecutive championship title, an incredible achievement for the young 'Golden Star Warriors' in this tournament. A historic hat trick to dominate Southeast Asian football!"

Meanwhile, Indonesian media also acknowledged the resilience of the Vietnamese U23 team, who played very bravely in a tight, fierce match with many clashes and controversies both on and off the field. The young Vietnamese players kept their cool to successfully defend their lead and deservedly claimed the championship title right at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium.

The team brought the trophy home.

"The Indonesian players were frustrated by the tight and well- organized play of the Vietnamese players. They were too passive, relying only on throw-ins for hope; they couldn't get close to the goal and wasted a lot of their time," FaktaBola (Indonesia) reported.

Meanwhile, an Indonesian netizen on social media platform X commented: "Honestly, since the match against the Philippines (in the second round of the group stage), the Indonesian U23 team's performance has been really poor. Their passing control is terrible, and their off-ball movements are completely ineffective, causing the ball to get stuck in the middle of the field and then passed back. Next, in the U23 Asian qualifiers, if they continue to play like this, it will be very difficult for the Indonesian U23 team."

CNN Indonesia also commented: "The Vietnam U23 team showed an excellent plan, taking full advantage of their opponent's mistakes to take the lead in the first half. The efforts of the Indonesian U23 team resulted in only a few insignificant opportunities and could not overcome the very disciplined defense of the Vietnamese U23 team. This is a stunning defeat for Indonesian football, showing that the naturalization strategy does not necessarily prevail against opponents with the potential and skill of Vietnamese football."

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/cu-hat-trick-lich-su-185250730000903704.htm