Vietnam beach soccer team defeats former Asian champions at 2025 continental championship

Vietnam beach soccer team has its first victory in history of participating in the Asian championship - Photo: VFF

The 2025 Asian Beach Soccer Championship will take place in Pattaya, Thailand from March 20 to 30 with 16 participating teams.

This is the second time the Vietnamese beach soccer team has qualified for the tournament. The first time was in 2015, when we stopped in the group stage after three defeats against China (5-5 draw, 2-3 penalty loss), Japan (2-3) and Kuwait (4-6).

At this year's tournament, the Vietnamese beach soccer team is in Group D with Oman (champion in 2015), Bahrain (champion in 2006) and Malaysia (who reached the quarter-finals in 2019).

In the first match, the Vietnamese team lost 1-7 to Oman on March 21.

But in the second match, coach Mai Van Duc and his team created a miracle when they won 4-2 against Bahrain.

In this match, the Vietnamese team played with concentration, organized a tight defense and opened the score first thanks to Tran Ngoc Bao.

After regrouping, Bahrain equalized, but very quickly after that, the Vietnamese team continued to lead with a goal by Phan Dat.

With only 4 minutes left in the match, Samoul helped Bahrain equalize 2-2 and bring the match into extra time.

According to the rules of beach soccer, there will be no draws. If the score is still tied after 3 official periods, the two teams will enter extra time and a penalty shootout to determine the final winner.

The joy of the whole team after the Asian miracle - Photo: VFF

And in extra time in the match against former Asian champions Bahrain, the Vietnamese beach soccer team played brilliantly to score two goals by Mai Van Manh and Phan Dat, sealing the final victory for the boys in red.

This miracle helps coach Mai Van Duc and his team open up the hope of winning tickets to the quarterfinals if they win against Malaysia in the final match.

In terms of achievements in the Southeast Asian region, the Vietnamese beach soccer team, with 1 champion and 2 runner-up places, is ranked above Malaysia (1 champion and 1 runner-up place). The gap in skill level is almost equal.

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HOANG TUNG