The Australian U16 coach admitted he was lucky to defeat Vietnam U16.

Antony Vidmar believes his team needed luck to win the Southeast Asian U16 Championship.

Australia U16 staged a comeback to defeat Vietnam U16, winning the Southeast Asian U16 Championship. Photo: Duc Dong

In the group stage, Vietnam U16 won 3-0 against Australia U16. When they met again in the final, Coach Dinh The Nam's team consistently led, at times by two goals (2-0 and then 3-1). However, the Vietnamese players were unable to maintain their lead, allowing Australia U16 to equalize 3-3 in eight minutes, from the 83rd minute to the first minute of added time in the second half. In the penalty shootout, Xuan Kien missed his penalty, resulting in Vietnam U16 losing 3-5 and missing out on the Southeast Asian U16 Championship title held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

“The Vietnam U16 team is truly a strong team. They made things very difficult for us in this final,” coach Antony Vidmar shared after leading the Australia U16 team to victory.

In the semi-final against Thailand U16, Australia U16 also equalized 3-3 in injury time, then won 5-3 on penalties. The exact same scenario repeated itself when they faced Vietnam U16 in the final. Coach Antony Vidmar admitted his team had a bit of luck.

“That’s football, you need a bit of luck to win. However, the key to our victory was the players’ spirit. They never gave up in any situation, even when trailing by two goals. The whole team fought with great belief until the final whistle,” the former Middlesbrough player added.

Coach Antony Vidmar said he and his players will prepare thoroughly for the rematch against Vietnam U16 at the U16 Asian Championship next September in India. Photo: Duc Dong

The Australian U16 team had a poor start to the Southeast Asian U16 Championship. They drew 1-1 with Myanmar U16 and lost 0-3 to Vietnam U16. However, coach Antony Vidmar's team then transformed, consecutively defeating the Philippines (7-0), Singapore (6-2), and Malaysia (7-1) to advance. In the semi-finals and final, the Australian team equalized in injury time before executing perfect penalty shootouts to win the championship.

According to VNE