Panda Cup 2025: U22 Vietnam receives valuable lesson

The Vietnam U22 team learned many valuable lessons from the Panda Cup 2025, before preparing for the 33rd SEA Games.

U22 Vietnam (right) in the loss to U22 Uzbekistan - Photo: UFA

Despite playing hard and creating many opportunities in the second half, the U22 Vietnam team could not convert them into goals and had to accept a 0-1 loss to U22 Uzbekistan in the second match of the CFA Team China - Panda Cup 2025 International Friendly Tournament on the afternoon of November 15.

With the aim of checking and evaluating the force, acting head coach Dinh Hong Vinh made 5 changes to the starting lineup in this match compared to the opening match, winning U22 China 1-0. Notably, the first appearance of goalkeeper Trung Kien and 2 strikers Dinh Bac and Viktor Le.

But when these adjustments had not yet taken effect, the U22 Vietnam team conceded a goal in the 4th minute after Saidkhon crossed from the right wing and finished close to the goal.

Although only consisting of 19-20 year old players, U22 Uzbekistan played very well. They held the ball firmly, fought strongly and put constant pressure on goalkeeper Trung Kien's goal. It was not until the 23rd minute that U22 Vietnam had its first shot, but Dinh Bac could not finish the opportunity well due to the rapid approach of U22 Uzbekistan defenders. In the last 5 minutes of the first half, Dinh Bac had 2 other opportunities but also failed to take advantage of them.

In the second half, U22 Uzbekistan was still the more dominant team. They even almost scored in the 57th minute when the U22 Vietnam defense made a mistake. Center back Hieu Minh lost the ball dangerously, giving the opponent a chance to escape, luckily Van Truong was able to successfully block it in front of the penalty area.

In the final minutes of the match, the U22 Vietnam team attacked quite well and had 2 scoring opportunities. One of them was a header that hit the crossbar by substitute striker Ngoc My 90+3.

With such a situation, coach Dinh Hong Vinh could not hide his regret when the U22 Vietnam team lost to U22 Uzbekistan.

"We faced a very strong opponent, well-organized and experienced in international competitions. Despite conceding an early goal, the whole team kept their composure, tried to adjust and regain the rhythm of the game. The team created some good chances but lacked a bit of precision and decisiveness in the final situations. However, this is an international friendly tournament, our goal is to build the squad, test the players and gain experience for the upcoming official tournaments," he said.

Coach Dinh Hong Vinh said that after this match, he and the players will have a meeting to review this match to become more mature, and at the same time prepare for the match against U22 Korea.

He said: "U22 Korea is a high-quality team, moves a lot, has good speed and plays very modernly. We will analyze today's match, consider the physical condition of each player and make reasonable adjustments. Our goal is to play more organized, maintain team distance and improve quality in the final stages. At the same time, we will create opportunities for players who need more playing time to evaluate the overall force."

The Vietnam U22 team will have one more day of training before entering the final match against the U22 Korea on November 18. Regardless of the result, it can be seen that continuously competing with the strongest opponents in the continent is an opportunity for the whole team to continue to perfect their playing style, accumulate experience and prepare best for the 33rd SEA Games next month in Thailand and the 2026 AFC U23 Championship finals early this year in Saudi Arabia.

NGUYEN KHOI

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/panda-cup-2025-u22-viet-nam-nhan-bai-hoc-quy-20251116095208733.htm