Fans argue about Vietnam U19 after opening match

Many fans had heated arguments among themselves about the performance of the Vietnam U19 team in their opening match against Timor Leste at the 2026 Southeast Asian U19 Championship on June 1st.

The Vietnam U19 team secured an important win over Timor Leste on the opening day of the 2026 Southeast Asian U19 Championship. However, the 3-0 victory did not satisfy many fans. On social media platforms, many conflicting opinions emerged regarding U19 Vietnam's performance.

"I see quite a few people criticizing U19 Vietnam's performance. However, playing in such hot and humid weather, the result is acceptable. Timor is also a team with European and Portuguese roots, so their young players are not easy to beat by a large margin. Fortunately, the boys won and got important points," Facebook user Vinh Cong spoke up to defend U19 Vietnam.

"The first match under such scorching sun, outdoor temperature probably 40-41 degrees, it's hard to demand U19 to go all out. Playing relaxed and conserving energy still gets 3 points, that's in line with the plan," Facebook user Quach Hai Long continued the comment thread.

"Basically, many criticisms are because the finishing and defense of U19 Vietnam look really worrying. Let's see if the coach has any new tactics and improvements in the next match. Playing like this is too risky," Facebook user Tran Duy Nam gave reasons why U19 Vietnam was criticized.

"Every time Indonesia and Thailand say they bring a B team, this time Vietnam actually brings a B team as well. Quite a few players were not released by their clubs because they are playing in the First Division, Second Division, or V-League. Some are preparing for high school graduation exams," Facebook user Nguyen Quang Huy attributed the reason to U19 Vietnam lacking key personnel.

"A start like that is fine. Generally, I don't expect too much because this time it's not the strongest squad. Besides, consider this as a rehearsal for the 2027 U20 Asian Cup qualifiers. I hope the match against U19 Myanmar the boys will play better and more smoothly," Facebook user Phuong Phi Phan shared his opinion.

"U19 Vietnam's defensive line loses possession too much when passing. The forward line needs to shoot more and be more decisive. U19 Vietnam needs more lethal combination plays instead of playing sluggishly like now," Facebook user Nguyen Van Hoa commented.

"Looking at the match, it's clear that U19 Vietnam hasn't adapted to the hot weather in Indonesia. Hopefully, in upcoming matches, U19 Vietnam will play better and more cohesively. This generation has some quite promising players, so expectations are high. But it's not because of high expectations that we demand them to play well and beautifully in the very first match.

Moreover, the difficulty of the tournament increases gradually, so there's no reason for U19 Vietnam to give their all in the first match. The most important thing is to advance deep into the tournament so that young players have more opportunities to gain experience and play," Facebook user Hoai Vu urged fans not to place too much expectation on U19 Vietnam.

"People criticize U19 Vietnam a lot, but I see that U19 Timor has improved greatly. They have good physical strength, play confidently, and dare to attack against U19 Vietnam. In this match, U19 Vietnam also played confidently, held possession, and used various tactics, not as disappointing as people think," Facebook user Cu Si shared.

In the next match taking place today (June 4), U19 Vietnam will face U19 Myanmar. This is considered a relatively difficult match for coach Yutaka Ikeuchi. If they win, U19 Vietnam will have an easier time calculating and distributing their energy in the final group stage match against hosts U19 Indonesia.