Vietnam U23 team wins dramatically in their opening match of the U23 Asian Championship.

On the evening of April 17th, the Vietnam U23 team played their opening match against Kuwait U23 in the AFC U23 Asian Championship. Coach Hoang Anh Tuan and his team showed high determination as they had the task of regaining the trust of fans after the poor results of Vietnamese football.

From the very first minutes of the match, the U23 Vietnam players played aggressively and proactively controlled the ball; however, coach Hoang Anh Tuan's team suffered a setback when Dinh Bac sustained an injury and had to leave the field.

In the 31st minute, Vietnam U23 gained the advantage when Ebrahim Kameel deliberately stepped on Khuất Văn Khang's foot. The referee reviewed VAR and decided to issue a direct red card. With a man advantage, Vietnam U23 took the lead in the 45+2 minute. Văn Trường made a good through pass to Văn Tùng, who controlled the ball, dribbled into the penalty area, and then delicately flicked the ball past the opposing goalkeeper with the outside of his foot.

The joy was short-lived. Just a minute later, center-back Nguyen Ngoc Thang committed a foul by pulling Karam of Kuwait inside the penalty area. Of course, the opposing team deserved a penalty, and not stopping there, the referee, after checking VAR, upgraded Ngoc Thang's yellow card to a red card. From the penalty spot, Salman Al Awadhi made no mistake, bringing the game back to a tie.

Entering the second half, coach Hoang Anh Tuan made three consecutive substitutions and immediately made an impact. In a clumsy moment by the opposing goalkeeper, Bui Vi Hao rushed in, putting pressure on the Kuwait goalkeeper and causing him to make a mistake. This created an opportunity for Vi Hao to seize the ball and calmly control it before shooting into the empty net, increasing the score to 2-1 for Vietnam U23.

Taking the lead allowed the U23 Vietnam players to play more freely. In the 55th minute, after a combination play, Minh Khoa managed to put the ball into the opponent's net, but VAR determined that Thai Son (who had an influence on the play) was offside.

With their minds freed, coach Hoang Anh Tuan's players played cohesively and created numerous opportunities. In the 76th minute, receiving the ball from Thai Son, Vi Hao made a determined run, dribbling close to the Kuwait goal before unleashing a gentle but powerful shot that went past goalkeeper Marzouq's hands and slowly rolled into the net, increasing the score to 3-1 for Vietnam U23.

In the following minutes, despite their best efforts, the Kuwait U23 team could not find the net. Ultimately, the Vietnam U23 team had a successful start with a 3-1 victory over Kuwait U23, leading Group D in the 2024 AFC U23 Asian Championship finals.

According to the schedule, coach Hoang Anh Tuan's team will face U23 Malaysia in the second match on April 20th.