Brazil coach surprised by Vietnam's direct advance to Southeast Asian Championship semifinals

Vietnam's U17 team qualified for the semifinals of the AFF U17 2026 as the group winner following a 0-0 draw with U17 Indonesia in the last Group A fixture, played at Gelora Joko Samudro Stadium (Gresik) on Sunday (19/4/2026).

Head coach of Vietnam U17, Cristiano Roland, admitted he was quite surprised that the opponent U17 Indonesia, who needed a win to keep their hopes alive, opted for a defensive approach for most of the match.

In this game, Vietnam U17 only needed to avoid defeat to secure the top spot in the group, while Indonesia U17 required a victory to enhance their chances of reaching the semifinals. Therefore, the coaching staff of the red-shirted team had prepared a plan to counter the pressure from the host team.

Coach Cristiano Roland shared: "We anticipated that Indonesia would apply strong pressing. Hence, we spent considerable time discussing this scenario with the players."

However, the actual developments on the field did not align with this coach's predictions. He added: "I was quite surprised that Indonesia proactively waited for us. I thought they might change their approach in the second half, but they maintained the same tactics."

In the second half, Indonesia U17 made some adjustments to improve their situation. Nevertheless, according to Coach Roland's assessment, these changes did not significantly alter the game.

The Brazilian strategist emphasized: "Of course they made adjustments. But I remained quite surprised. Football is like that; each team has its own ideas and tactics. What matters to me is that the players understand the situation, pay attention to such moments, and play intelligently to control the match."

With this draw result, Vietnam U17 officially secured a semifinal berth as the Group A leader. Joining them is Malaysia U17, the team with the best runner-up performance.

The other two teams in the semifinals are Laos U17 and Australia U17, who respectively topped Groups B and C. In the next round, Laos U17, who surprised by defeating Philippines and Thailand in the group stage, will face Malaysia, while Vietnam U17 will confront Australia to compete for a spot in the final.