Losing on penalties to U21 PVF, U21 Song Lam Nghe An stopped at the Quarterfinals of the National U21 Tournament
The match between U21 PVF and U21 Song Lam Nghe An in the Quarterfinals of the 2025 National U21 Tournament took place on the afternoon of July 27, at Long Tam Stadium (Ho Chi Minh City).
Journey to the Quarterfinals ofU21 Song Lam Nghe AnThe 2025 National U21 Championship is not easy. Coach Pham Anh Tuan's team started off well by defeating the home team U21 Ho Chi Minh City Football Club. However, in the second round, the Nghe An team unexpectedly lost to U21 PVF-CAND, forcing them to wait until the final match of the group stage to decide their fate. The draw against U21 SHB Da Nang in this round helped U21 Song Lam Nghe An win a ticket to continue.
In the Quarterfinals, U21 Song Lam Nghe An will meet U21 PVF again. This is an opponent that they had met in the group stage. However, the previous confrontation was just a formality and did not fully reflect the strength of the two teams. However, experts all rate U21 PVF as the leading candidate for the championship and the "upper hand" in this match.
Facing a big challenge, Coach Pham Anh Tuan has deployed the strongest lineup with a 4-4-1-1 formation. Goalkeeper Bao Ngoc is the main goalkeeper. The defense consists of 4 names: Tan Minh, Nam Hai, Tien Thang and Mai Hoang. The midfield is assigned to Quang Vinh, Trong Tuan, Long Vu and Trong Son. Van Quy takes on the role of attacking midfielder, playing behind striker Phan Duy Hao.
With the key nature of a medal match, U21 Song Lam Nghe An proactively entered the game cautiously, choosing a defensive counter-attacking style of play to neutralize the strength of a well-organized opponent like U21 PVF.
However, with a bit of luck, U21 PVF soon got the opening goal. In the 12th minute, Nguyen Hoang Anh took advantage of the opportunity to put the red team ahead.
After conceding the goal, U21 Song Lam Nghe An immediately rose up strongly. The Nghe team took control of the game and organized a varied attacking style. Coach Pham Anh Tuan's students continuously exploited situations that hit the opponent's midfield, creating many dangerous opportunities in front of the PVF U21 goal. However, on an unlucky day, the yellow-shirted strikers still could not put the ball in the opponent's net.
Persisting with a proactive playstyle, U21 Song Lam Nghe An finally got what they needed. In the 87th minute, Trong Tuan spoke up with an important goal, bringing the match back to the starting line.
The 1-1 score remained until the end of the official match time, forcing the two teams to enter a penalty shootout to decide the winner. On the risky 11m mark, once again luck did not smile on the Nghe An team. U21 Song Lam Nghe An lost 3-5 and officially said goodbye to the 2025 National U21 Tournament.