U.16 Vietnam pays the price for wasting opportunities, must correct mistakes when playing against China

The U.16 Vietnam team had the lead, but coach Cristiano Roland's students could not maintain the advantage and lost to U.16 Australia in the opening match.

U.16 Vietnam lost the reverse

The CFA Team China 2025 International U.16 Tournament will take place in China from May 28 to June 1, bringing together 4 participating teams: U.16 Australia, U.16 Saudi Arabia, U.16 Vietnam and host U.16 China. To prepare for this tour, the U.16 Vietnam players have gathered to practice in Hanoi since May 10, under the guidance of head coach Cristiano Roland. The U.16 Vietnam team traveling to China this time is mostly brand new faces, aiming to accumulate battle experience, hone their competitive spirit to aim for the 2026 U.17 Asian qualifiers. Among them, only Chu Ngoc Nguyen Luc is a familiar name, as he was a mainstay in the U.17 Vietnam team that played quite impressively at the recent 2025 U.17 Asian Cup.

In the opening match of the tournament yesterday afternoon, May 28, the U.16 Vietnam team faced a highly rated opponent, the U.16 Australia team. It can be said that the teams under the guidance of coach Cristiano Roland always play with clear strategies, when each individual follows and effectively implements the proposed tactical plan. This factor helped the U.16 Vietnam team take the lead 1-0 in the 45+1 minute, thanks to a goal by midfielder Le Sy Bach. However, the weakness that the Vietnamese boys revealed through the match against the U.16 Australia team was the ability to take advantage of opportunities. If they had handled the final situations more accurately, the number of goals that the U.16 Vietnam team scored against the team from the land of kangaroos would not have stopped at just 1.

Chu Ngoc Nguyen Luc (left) is the most experienced player of U.16 Vietnam at present.

PHOTO: NGHI THAO

Against a superior team, the squandering of opportunities cost coach Cristiano Roland's team. While the Vietnamese players kept missing opportunities, the Australian U.16 team took advantage of their physical advantage. In the last 15 minutes of the match, the Australian U.16 team with many players with good physique and fitness maintained a fast pace of the match, increasing the pressure, while the students of coach Roland showed signs of fatigue and could not maintain concentration. The kangaroo team scored 2 consecutive goals in just 2 minutes, thanks to goals from Jordan Owusu (minute 75) and Johnny Pavlovic (minute 76). The Vietnamese U.16 team was reversed and lost 1-2 to the Australian U.16 team in the opening match of the CFA Team China 2025 International U.16 Tournament.

With the nature of a friendly tournament, the result of a match is not too important. However, the fact that U.16 Vietnam lost to their opponent and missed many good opportunities will be a problem that coach Cristiano Roland and his colleagues must find a way to overcome for his students. It must also be said that for young players with little experience, it is understandable that they lack courage in playing. But through many matches and tournaments like this, with real competition experience, plus adjustments from the coaching staff, the U.16 Vietnam players will improve every day.

In the second match of the tournament, the U.16 Vietnam team will face the host U.16 China at 6:35 p.m. on May 30. The home team also won against Saudi Arabia with a score of 2-1 in the match last night.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/u16-viet-nam-tra-gia-vi-phung-phi-co-hoi-phai-khac-phuc-sai-lam-khi-dau-trung-quoc-185250528195140969.htm