International newspapers impressed with the energy and desire of U20 Vietnam

Young Vietnamese players, in their debut at the U20 World Cup, received positive reviews from international observers.

"Vietnam may have wanted all three points, but they were also satisfied with their performance today," Fox Sports Asia commented after the 0-0 draw between Vietnam and New Zealand in the U20 World Cup yesterday, May 22.

"Vietnam's discipline and intensity were impressive. They played with great passion," the news site emphasized.

Article on Fox Sport Asia about Vietnam's impressive debut at the U20 World Cup.

New Zealand, who advanced to the knockout stages of the U20 World Cup two years ago on home soil, were favourites. But Vietnam surprisingly dominated their opponents throughout the first half. The young Southeast Asians had 11 shots in the first half, with five on target. New Zealand, meanwhile, had just two shots in the first half.

Even the newspaper based in this Oceania country, New Zealand Football (NZF), also highly appreciates the young stars under coach Hoang Anh Tuan.

"Vietnam shook the New Zealand defence with a determined performance, showing they have the class for this tournament," NZF wrote. "New Zealand were under a lot of pressure from their first-time opponents but were not nervous or bewildered on the big stage."

The way the red team played confidently, determinedly and dominated the opponent for most of the time made a strong impression on the international media. Photo: Duc Dong.

The newspaper was also particularly impressed with the large number of Vietnamese fans appearing at Cheonan Stadium, commenting that "Vietnam played as if they were playing at home."

Another New Zealand newspaper, Stuff, was disappointed with the home team's draw. The site commented that "Vietnam played well in the first half and faded towards the end of the match", and regretted that New Zealand did not take advantage of the opportunities created in the second half to score the decisive goal. However, Stuff also said that "a draw was a fair result".

Vietnam's best chance yesterday was Hoang Duc's close-range shot in the 86th minute, but the ball went over the bar. New Zealand also created a scoring opportunity in the 76th minute, but Rogerson's close-range shot was blocked by goalkeeper Tien Dung.

FIFA's homepage gave many compliments to U20 Vietnam, and said that if they had been a little luckier, the red team could have won all three points on the opening day.

"Full of energy, speed and enthusiasm, U20 Vietnam were clearly superior from the first minutes," the article on the FIFA.com homepage praised the performance of coach Hoang Anh Tuan's players. "The red attacks always made New Zealand wary."

Although they could not win, Vietnam made history by becoming the first Southeast Asian team to score points at the U20 World Cup. In the next two matches, coach Hoang Anh Tuan and his team will face the strongest team in the group - France - on May 25, and then Honduras on May 28.

According to VNE