Dinh Xuan Tien excelled on the day U20 Vietnam failed

Dinh Xuan Tien continued to show his brilliant performance, but U20 Vietnam did not get a good result in the match against U20 Indonesia. Photo: VFF

Before entering the final round of matches in Group F, the U20 Asia qualifiers, U20 Vietnam and U20 Indonesia have the same number of points and the same secondary indicators. Therefore, if the two teams draw, the first and second places on the rankings will have to be determined by a penalty shootout.

The starting lineup of U20 Vietnam in this match has many changes compared to the victory over East Timor in the previous match. Notably, 3 players from Song Lam Nghe An were on the field from the beginning, including Dinh Xuan Tien, Ho Van Cuong and Cao Van Binh. In which, Cao Van Binh was in the goal for U20 Vietnam for the first time.

Although this was a very important match, the two teams entered the match quite openly. Playing at home made coach Shin Tae Yong's players play more excitedly and fiercely. The home team's attacks were smooth and had a high level of surprise. The cheers of thousands of spectators were the catalyst that made Indonesia possess the first dangerous opportunity of the match. From an attack on the right wing, Ronaldo penetrated the penalty area, fired a shot that forced Van Binh to push the ball away to save. Then 2 of the Indonesian strikers fired a rebound kick but both were inaccurate.

U20 Vietnam chose a defensive counter-attacking style of play to counter the pressure from the home team. Coach Dinh The Nam's players' transitions from defense to counter-attack were quite quick and unpredictable, opening up many opportunities in front of Nugraha's goal.

In the first 45 minutes of the match, U20 Indonesia had the upper hand, taking twice as many shots as U20 Vietnam. However, both teams had the same number of dangerous chances and both were unlucky in their final shots.

Entering the second half, coach Dinh The Nam's students actively launched attacks. Less than 6 minutes after the ball started rolling in this half, U20 Vietnam had 2 opportunities to make a difference. However, in the final stages, coach Dinh The Nam's students still did not have the necessary accuracy to open the score.

While U20 Vietnam gradually created positive signals on the attack, U20 Indonesia unexpectedly opened the score in the 60th minute of the match. The goal came from a classy move from outside the penalty area by Ferdinan. This striker fired a powerful shot into the top corner, leaving Cao Van Binh helpless. The score was opened for U20 Indonesia.

After conceding the goal, U20 Vietnam increased the speed of the match and made more diverse combinations in front of Nugraha's goal. Dinh Xuan Tien was the most active and aggressive player on the attack line of the yellow star army. U20 Vietnam's equalizer in the 65th minute of the match had a great contribution from midfielder Song Lam Nghe An. Xuan Tien passed the ball to Van Khang who ran down the right wing, the midfielder wearing the number 10 shirt made a dangerous cross that forced the opponent's defender to score an own goal. The match score was brought back to the starting line by the students of Mr. Dinh The Nam.

Not stopping there, U20 Vietnam continued to show their class by increasing the score to 2-1. A teammate passed the ball to Thanh Nhan to create a wall, then released the ball to Xuan Tien to rush in and face Nugraha. The midfielder from Song Lam Nghe An made a tricky kick that hit the opponent's net.

However, after that, the U20 Vietnam defense played too carelessly and had to concede two consecutive goals. Indonesia's goals were scored by Ferrari and Rabbani.

In the final minutes of the match, U20 Vietnam tried hard to find an equalizer but could not penetrate the crowded defense of the home team. The final result was U20 Indonesia winning 3-2 against U20 Vietnam.

With this score, U20 Vietnam will have to wait for the results of the remaining 9 teams in the remaining groups to determine the possibility of entering the final round of the 2023 AFC U20 Championship.