Vietnamese youth football has been Australia's nightmare for the past 10 years.

From U17, U20 to U23, Vietnamese youth football has repeatedly defeated Australia over the past decade, affirming its growing stature against a strong continental opponent.

The 2-1 victory of Vietnam U17 over Australia U17 in the semifinals of the 2026 Southeast Asian U17 Championship not only propelled coach Cristiano Roland's team to the championship match, but also extended the impressive streak of Vietnamese youth football against Australian youth teams. From U17, U20 to U23 levels, over the past 10 years, Vietnamese football has repeatedly left representatives from the land of kangaroos disappointed.

At the U17 level, Vietnam has repeatedly made an impression against Australia. In 2016, Vietnam U16 defeated Australia U16 3-2 in the Asian Championship group stage through an emotional comeback to secure a quarter-final spot. Also that year, the two teams met in the Southeast Asian U16 final, and Vietnam unfortunately lost only in a penalty shootout after a 3-3 draw in 120 minutes. By 2026, the 2-1 victory in the semifinals continued to confirm that Vietnam U17 does not fall short against a physically stronger opponent.

At the U19/U20 level, Vietnam's victories over Australia are even more impressive. In the 2014 Asian U19 qualifying round, Vietnam U19 defeated Australia with a heavy 5-1 score, creating a major shock in continental youth football. One year later, at My Dinh Stadium, Vietnam U19 again defeated Australia U19 1-0 in the Southeast Asian U19 Championship thanks to a beautiful goal by Nguyen Cong Phuong. This was the period when talented players like Cong Phuong, Xuan Truong, and Tuan Anh helped Vietnamese youth football achieve a strong breakthrough.

At the 2023 Asian U20 Championship, Vietnam once again caused Australia to suffer defeat. Coach Hoang Anh Tuan's team defeated Australia U20 1-0 in the opening group stage match thanks to a decisive long-range shot by Nguyen Quoc Viet. This victory not only created a significant advantage for the group stage journey but also showed that Vietnamese youth players are increasingly confident when facing top continental opponents.

At the U23 level, the most memorable victory is undoubtedly the 1-0 win over Australia U23 in the group stage of the 2018 Asian U23 Championship. This result became an important stepping stone for Vietnam U23 to secure a quarter-final spot, before writing the fairy tale story in Changzhou with a historic runner-up finish. Since then, the psychological "fear of Australia" has almost ceased to exist among Vietnamese youth teams.

However, the gap at the national team level remains quite large, as Australia remains a top force in Asia and regularly participates in the World Cup. Vietnam lost both of the most recent encounters in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers. Nevertheless, the consecutive victories from U17 to U23 show that Vietnamese youth football is on the right track. When the youth training foundation continues to be invested systematically, that gap can definitely be narrowed in the future.

FIFA is about to make a final ruling on the top tournament of the Vietnam national team.

Likely to participate in the FIFA ASEAN Cup 2026, competing for the championship with Vietnam and Indonesia.