U.16 Vietnam beat Saudi Arabia 2-1: Easily usurped China, VFF awarded 400 million VND

An impressive 2-1 victory over U.16 Saudi Arabia puts U.16 Vietnam on track to climb to second place in the international U.16 friendly rankings.

Ranking: U.16 Vietnam impressive comeback

On the afternoon of June 1, U.16 Vietnam took to the field to play the final match of the 2025 CFA Team China U.16 International Tournament, against U.16 Saudi Arabia to determine the final position on the rankings.

After the first two matches, coach Cristiano Roland's team lost to U.16 Australia (1-2) and drew with U.16 China (2-2), temporarily ranking third. U.16 Saudi Arabia is at the bottom of the table with 2 losses and no points.

Despite facing a representative from a youth team from Asia's top footballing nation, U.16 Vietnam played hard to prove their strength. Coach Roland's reasonable ball control tactics, game regulation and timing to "finish" the opponent helped U.16 Vietnam come from behind to defeat U.16 Saudi Arabia with a score of 2-1.

The other team opened the score in the 23rd minute, but coach Cristiano Roland's students were not shaken, calmly stabilizing the game and organizing attacks. The efforts of U.16 Vietnam were rewarded with a beautiful header to equalize 1-1 by Quang Khoi in the 29th minute. The goal that sealed the 2-1 score for U.16 Vietnam was scored by Chu Ngoc Nguyen Luc in the 83rd minute.

Unbelievable draw between U.16 Vietnam and U.16 China: Locker room bursts into tears

U.16 Vietnam ended the international friendly tournament with 4 points.

PHOTO: VFF

After 3 matches, U.16 Vietnam scored 5 goals against strong teams such as U.16 Australia, U.16 China and U.16 Saudi Arabia. The players played confidently, actively defending, switching to counter-attacks well, pressing to win the ball and attacking powerfully with clear tactics.

U.16 Vietnam also completely overcame their physical weakness, when in this tournament, Dai Nhan and his teammates were able to put pressure until the last minutes. Mr. Roland's students drew 2-2 with U.16 China when they were down 2 goals, then came back to defeat U.16 Saudi Arabia despite having to compete in harsh conditions.

President of the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) Tran Quoc Tuan said: "At the end of the tournament, the U.16 Vietnam team had 1 loss, 1 draw and 1 win. The team won 4 points, showing progress after each match. VFF decided to encourage and congratulate head coach Roland and the team. In fact, VFF awarded the team 400 million VND."

Have a chance to surpass U.16 China

Vietnam U.16 has 4 points after 3 matches in the 2025 International U.16 Tournament, scoring 5 goals and conceding 5 goals (0 goal difference). Coach Roland and his team are temporarily equal in points with China U.16 (4 points after 2 matches).

At 6:30 p.m. today, U.16 China will face U.16 Australia. If host China loses by 2 goals or more, U.16 Vietnam will take second place from their opponent.

Whether the tournament ends in second or third place, it is still a great effort from the young U.16 Vietnam team, who are participating in a big tournament for the first time under the guidance of coach Roland.

Vietnam U.16 will practice and participate in international tournaments to prepare for the 2027 AFC U.17 qualifiers taking place next year. In the most recent AFC U.17 finals (2025), Vietnam U.17 did not advance, but drew 1-1 with all three opponents: Japan U.17, Australia U.17 and UAE U.17.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/bang-xep-hang-u16-quoc-te-u16-viet-nam-thang-nguoc-de-soan-ngoi-trung-quoc-vff-thuong-400-trieu-dong-185250601152828878.htm