U17 Vietnam draws with Australia

On the night of April 4, U17 Vietnam held Australia to a 1-1 draw in the opening match of Group D, the final round of the 2025 AFC U17 Championship.

In the 49th minute, Hoang Trong Duy Khang received the ball and fired a dangerous shot from a narrow angle, defeating goalkeeper Jai Ajanovic. The moment of brilliance from the PVF striker helped U17 Vietnam earn a valuable draw against a highly rated opponent, Australia.

1 point in the opening match gives coach Cristiano Roland and his team more hope of finishing the group stage in one of the top two positions, which means a ticket to the U17 World Cup taking place in November this year. In the next match, Duy Khang and his teammates will face Japan, the team considered the strongest in the group.

U17 Vietnam had an impressive debut at the Asian tournament. Photo: VFF.

Vietnam U17 started the game quite well in the first half. Despite the opponent's superior ability to compete, coach Cristiano Roland and his team confidently deployed the ball in the middle of the field and had 2 shots on target, notably Nguyen Van Khanh's shot from close to the 16.5m line. The ball went quite dangerously but Ajanovic still managed to dive to save the goal.

On the other hand, Australia chose a simple style of play to take advantage of their physical advantage. In the 29th minute, Dau Hong Phong committed a foul that led to a penalty. However, Quinn MacNicol hit the crossbar from 11 meters away.

The Australian U17 captain failed to score from the penalty spot but opened the scoring with an impressive long-range shot in the 41st minute. Starting from a loss of the ball by Vietnam U17 in the middle of the field, MacNicol broke through the middle, overcame Hong Phong's tackle, before finishing past goalkeeper Hoa Xuan Tin.

U17 Vietnam caused many difficulties for Australia. Photo: VFF.

Right at the beginning of the second half, Australia almost raised the score to 2-0, after Max Anastasio's long-range shot hit the crossbar in the 48th minute. Just 1 minute after escaping defeat, U17 Vietnam created a surprise with an equalizer scored by Duy Khang.

For the rest of the match, Australia pushed up their formation, putting a lot of pressure on Vietnam's defense. However, the boys in red played with concentration, maintaining their formation to neutralize the opponent's passes from both sides.

The drama was pushed up in the extra time. In the 90+1 minute, Jonty Benfield approached the goal but hit the crossbar. Australia had an unlucky day, when the goal frame denied 3 clear scoring opportunities. Not long after, U17 Vietnam responded with a shot from Chu Ngoc Nguyen Luc hitting the post. 1-1 was the final score of the first match in Group D.

List of players on the field of U17 Vietnam.

Source: https://znews.vn/u17-viet-nam-hoa-australia-post1543394.html