Chinese Media: 'Even Australia Must Look Up to Vietnam's Champion'

Chinese media lavished special praise on Vietnam's U17 championship, while issuing a verdict on the powerful rise of the new golden generation.

The 2026 Southeast Asian U17 final in Sidoarjo, Indonesia concluded with the most convincing coronation of Coach Cristiano Roland and his team. By defeating Malaysia with a dominant 3-0 score, Vietnam U17 not only exclusively claimed the regional throne but also compelled continental media, particularly China's Sohu, to bow in admiration.

In a deep analysis article about the match, Sohu used strong language to describe the power of Coach Roland's team. The newspaper asserted: "Vietnam U17 beat Malaysia 3-0, Australia can only look up to the champion".

According to Chinese media, the rise of Vietnam's youth football is a "fresh breath of life" blowing into the regional arena. Sohu emphasized: "They can now compete fairly with traditional powerhouses like Australia. The Kangaroo nation's team's defeat against Vietnam in the semifinal is the clearest evidence of this power shift".

Vietnam U17's journey to the throne was described as "unbelievably perfect." From an unbeaten group stage, a comeback against reigning champion Australia, to crushing Malaysia 3-0 in the final. The goals by Dao Quy Vuong and Nguyen Van Duong's brace concretized the absolute dominance in both technique and tactics.

This victory helped Vietnam set a record of 4 Southeast Asian championships, surpassing both Thailand and Australia. More astonishingly, under Coach Cristiano Roland, Vietnam U17 currently possesses a streak of 16 consecutive unbeaten matches across all official arenas, scoring up to 55 goals and conceding only 5 times. Specifically against "vanquished foe" Malaysia, Vietnam has won all three recent encounters with a staggering aggregate score of 11-0.

Not stopping at mere praise, the Sohu also expressed concern for their own team ahead of the AFC U17 Championship in May. The newspaper issued a verdict: "Vietnam U17 will undoubtedly be the most formidable opponent for China and other strong teams in the race for World Cup tickets. Their performance deserves close monitoring and high expectations".

With systematic investment from VFF and Coach Roland's leadership, Vietnam U17 is brimming with confidence aiming for the goal of reaching the Asian quarter-finals to secure a World Cup ticket for the first time. The verdict from international media is clear: Vietnam is no longer a "dark horse," but has truly become a leading force.

Asian Football Federation immediately reacted when Vietnam heavily defeated Malaysia in the Southeast Asian final

Thai fans reacted strongly when Vietnam won the Southeast Asian championship for the 4th time