U21 Song Lam Nghe An held U21 SHB Da Nang to a draw, officially winning a ticket to the Quarterfinals of the 2025 National U21 Tournament
On the afternoon of July 23, at Long Tam Stadium (HCMC), U21 Song Lam Nghe An had a 0-0 draw with U21 SHB Da Nang in the final match of Group A of the 2025 National U21 Championship. The result was enough to help coach Pham Anh Tuan and his team win a ticket to the Quarterfinals with 3rd place in the group.
Step into the final round of the National U21 Tournament 2025,U21 Song Lam Nghe Anfell into group A with the teams: Host U21 Ho Chi Minh City Football Club, U21 SHB Da Nang and U21 PVF-CAND. This is considered a relatively "easy" group for coach Pham Anh Tuan's team.
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In the opening match of the final round, U21 Song Lam Nghe An had a perfect start when they won against the host U21 Ho Chi Minh City Football Club with a score of 2-1.
However, in the second round of Group A, U21 Nghe An unexpectedly lost to U21 PVF-CAND with a score of 2-4. This defeat prevented U21 Song Lam Nghe An from getting a ticket to the Quarterfinals. On the other hand, it also partly reflects some of the shortcomings that U21 Song Lam Nghe An is facing. And if they can get past the group stage, coach Pham Anh Tuan also needs to quickly overcome those shortcomings if he hopes to go far in this tournament.
Entering the final match of Group A, U21 Song Lam Nghe An will face U21 SHB Da Nang. Comparing the points of the teams in the 3 groups, U21 Song Lam Nghe An only needs 1 point to be able to qualify for the Quarterfinals.
Therefore, coach Pham Anh Tuan made a series of changes in the way he used personnel for the match against SHB Da Nang. In particular, goalkeeper Huu Hau and midfielder Long Vu could not play due to receiving penalty cards.
Thus, goalkeeper Tran Van Dat was given the opportunity to start. The defense line consisted of 4 names: Anh Dung, Phan Van Thanh, Nguyen Van Tam and Ho Long Vu. In the midfield, Pham Nguyen Quoc Trung and Van Linh took on the coordinating role. In the attack, the duo Pham Quoc Khanh and Truong Van Tuyen led the scoring task.
With the goal of winning at least 1 point to advance, both teams started the match cautiously. Instead of pushing up their attacking formation, U21 SLNA and U21 SHB Da Nang proactively controlled the ball, keeping the match's tempo at a moderate level. The developments on the field partly reflected the calculated tactics of both coaches in this important match.
During the first half, U21 Song Lam Nghe An did not create any truly dangerous opportunities towards SHB Da Nang's goal. The ball was mainly circulated in the midfield, in which coach Pham Anh Tuan's students did not try too hard to bring the ball close to the opponent's goal. Therefore, the first 45 minutes of the match ended with a score of 0-0.
After the break, the game was still not much different. Neither U21 Song Lam Nghe An nor U21 SHB Da Nang increased the speed of play. The substitutions from the two coaches did not create a big turning point for the match.
The score of 0-0 was maintained until the end of the match, a result that satisfied both teams. U21 SHB Da Nang with 5 points won the top spot in Group A, while U21 Song Lam Nghe An ranked second with 4 points, officially registering their name in the Quarterfinals.
Despite achieving their goal of advancing, the performance of U21 Song Lam Nghe An still leaves many questions. Facing the upcoming opponents in the knockout round, coach Pham Anh Tuan will need to make timely adjustments if he wants to go far in this year's tournament.
