U17 Vietnam matures after challenge from "blue team" U18 Ehime

On the afternoon of November 13 (local time), the U17 Vietnam team had a friendly match and lost 1-2 to U18 Ehime. This was the third and final match of coach Cristiano Roland and his team during their training trip in Ehime province (Japan), to prepare for the 2026 AFC U17 Championship Qualifiers.

Starting lineup of U17 Vietnam. (Photo: VFF)

The opponent of coach Cristiano Roland and his team is the team that owns the successor force of Ehime FC club currently playing in J-League 2. This is considered the strongest "blue army" of U17 Vietnam in this training session.

In the final match, coach Cristiano Roland continued to take advantage of the opportunity to evaluate the performance and tactical adaptability of his players. The starting lineup was also adjusted compared to the previous two matches, with the aim of helping the young players accumulate more practical experience.

Right after the opening whistle, the two teams entered the match at a high speed. Facing an opponent with good physical and technical foundation, the U17 Vietnam players still maintained a reasonable formation distance, organized effective pressing and created many remarkable counter-attack situations.

In the 34th minute, U18 Ehime opened the score 1-0. After a dangerous cross from the right wing, goalkeeper Xuan Hoa blocked the first shot but could not stop the opponent's close-range rebound.

In the second half, U17 Vietnam played better, actively holding the ball and pushing up the formation to attack. However, while pushing up the formation, coach Cristiano Roland's students left gaps in the defense, creating conditions for U18 Ehime to take advantage of the opportunity to quickly counterattack, raising the score to 2-0 in the 70th minute.

Undaunted, the young Vietnamese players maintained their pace of play, showing determination until the last minute. In the 89th minute, Nguyen Hiep Dai Viet took advantage of the opportunity in the penalty area, finishing neatly to reduce the score to 1-2. This was also the final result of the match.

Although they did not win, the performance against a quality opponent helped U17 Vietnam gain many valuable lessons about the ability to withstand pressure, transition and organize attacks. The coaching staff assessed these as key factors in the process of perfecting the playing style towards the 2026 AFC U17 Qualifiers.

According to the plan, the team will have one more day of training in Ehime before returning to Vietnam on November 15. After the training trip, U17 Vietnam will enter the final preparation stage for the 2026 U17 Asian qualifiers, scheduled to take place from November 22-30 in Hanoi and Hung Yen.

PHAN THACH

Source: https://nhandan.vn/u17-viet-nam-truong-thanh-sau-thu-thach-tu-quan-xanh-u18-ehime-post922798.html