U23 Indonesia lost the final, fans criticized AFF, criticized U23 Vietnam

(NLDO) - U23 Vietnam defeated Indonesia to win the regional youth championship for the third time. Besides the congratulations from the region, many Indonesian fans still expressed their anger.

On the evening of July 29, U23 Vietnam defeated U23 Indonesia 1-0 in the final of the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship at Bung Karno Stadium. Despite having home field advantage, Indonesia was still stuck in the face of Vietnam's solid play.

Except for a few strong throw-ins, U23 Indonesia barely created any clear chances. Meanwhile, the "golden star warriors" took advantage of the opponent's defensive mistakes to score the only goal thanks to Nguyen Cong Phuong, a player who had only started since the semi-finals.

With this, U23 Vietnam won the regional tournament for the third consecutive time, and is also the second title of coach Kim Sang-sik with Vietnamese football after the ASEAN Cup.

After this victory, U23 Vietnam received many compliments and congratulations from Vietnamese fans, the region and a few fans from the "island country". However, some still criticized AFF for Vietnam's time-wasting, causing U23 Indonesia to lose on home ground.

"Vietnam wasted time, leaving U23 Indonesia with no chance"; "They were too proud to win against U23 Indonesia B, not our main team"; "Congratulations to U23 Vietnam, you guys are amazing. Best wishes from Indonesia";.... A Malaysian fan even joked: "Vietnam will be banned for winning too many times against Indonesia",....

"The AFF Cup is only harmful to PSSI - the Indonesian Football Federation, always asking for facilities from Indonesia, even sponsorship, but the Indonesian team is always cheated. It is better to focus on the 4th qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup, rather than the AFF. Events, money, they only take advantage of the Indonesian national team..." - an Indonesian fan was upset.

In this match, Ly Duc committed a rather brutal foul on his opponent, elbowing an Indonesian player, but fortunately VAR did not intervene. This may be what made fans from the "island country" angry.

With this victory, U23 Vietnam is leading the tournament's achievements list with 3 championships, far surpassing Thailand and Indonesia (both 1 time) when the tournament just ended its 5th season.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/u23-indonesia-thua-chung-ket-cdv-chi-trich-aff-che-u23-viet-nam-196250729230625565.htm