Yancheng – U22 Vietnam fell short of the CFA Team China 2025 title, settling for a 1-1 draw against host U22 China in their final match on March 25 at Jiangsu’s Yancheng Stadium, despite taking the lead and playing with a man advantage late on.
Coach Dinh Hong Vinh’s squad finished the four-team friendly tournament unbeaten—drawing South Korea (1-1), Uzbekistan (0-0), and China—but defensive lapses and missed chances cost them the crown. China clinched the trophy with five points, while Vietnam took second with three.
Vietnam struck first in the first half through vice-captain Nguyen Quoc Viet. The 22-year-old striker, fed by Viktor Le, turned sharply and unleashed a low, left-footed shot from 16 meters that zipped past the Chinese goalkeeper—a strike both powerful and precise. Quoc Viet, a Ninh Binh FC standout with seven goals in 26 U22/U23 caps, honed his ambidextrous finishing at HAGL and Nutifood academies. Had that 1-0 lead held, Vietnam would have lifted the cup.
Adopting a counterattacking stance post-goal, Vietnam controlled the game until a 71st-minute blunder. Defender Nguyen Hong Phuc, 22, misjudged a touch in the box and fouled Mutellip Iminqari after losing possession. Referee Dai Yige pointed to the spot, and China’s captain Aifeierding Aisikaer coolly slotted the penalty past Cao Van Binh, leveling the score. The call sparked outrage—Vietnam argued Mutellip’s high foot warranted a foul, while Hong Phuc limped off injured.
China bunkered down after equalizing, frustrating Vietnam’s late push despite a numerical edge. In the 74th minute, China’s Zhang Yixuan earned a second yellow for a reckless two-footed lunge on Nguyen Thanh Nhan, leaving his side with 10 men. Vietnam piled on pressure—Nguyen Xuan Bac’s curling shot rattled the bar in the 78th minute, followed by a teammate’s rebound clipping the post—but couldn’t convert. Earlier, a Nguyen Hieu Minh error gifted China’s Kuai Jiwen a first-half chance that also struck the woodwork.
Tempers flared as Coaches Dinh Hong Vinh and China’s Antonio Puche both saw yellow for protesting decisions, notably the contentious penalty. Vietnam’s wastefulness—despite clearer chances—and self-inflicted errors, like Hong Phuc’s and Hieu Minh’s miscues, left them ruing what could have
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