Southeast Asian media are in disbelief as Vietnam suffered a cruel elimination at the hands of Cambodia.

The Cambodian U19 side stunned everyone by drawing 2-2 with Australia, earning their first semifinal berth in the AFF U19 Championship. This unexpected outcome eliminated Vietnam's U19 in the group stage and shocked regional media.

Right after the match ended, many media outlets and football communities in Southeast Asia expressed shock at this unbelievable scenario. Seasia Goal posted a noteworthy status: "Unbelievable! Cambodia held Australia to a draw! With this result, Cambodia eliminated Vietnam from the tournament and secured a semifinal spot alongside group-toppers Australia. What a crazy script!"

The post quickly attracted huge attention from regional fans as very few thought Cambodia's U19 could earn points against Australia, the team rated as the strongest in Group C.

At Madya North Sumatra Stadium, things initially went as expected. Australia's U19 started confidently and opened the scoring as early as the 3rd minute. Capitalizing on a mistake by Cambodia's defense, Marcus Neill easily tapped the ball into an empty net after a cross from a teammate.

In the 17th minute, Alexandro Nunes doubled the lead for the Australian representatives with a close-range rebound. With a comfortable 2-0 advantage at halftime, Australia's U19 seemed to have secured their spot in the next round, while also opening a window for Vietnam's U19 in the race for a semifinal berth.

However, the second half witnessed a courageous comeback by coach Yasuhiro Yoshida's side. In the 60th minute, Cambodia pulled one back after a deflected shot from the right flank. Then in the 82nd minute, the team from the Land of Temples surprised again by forcing an own goal from a corner kick, leveling the score at 2-2.

In the remaining minutes, Cambodia's U19 played disciplined football to preserve the precious draw. One point against Australia allowed the young Cambodian side to create history, reaching the knockout stage for the first time and earning a place in the Southeast Asian U19 semifinals.

On the flip side, this was bad news for Vietnam's U19. Based on the ranking of group runners-up, Cambodia jumped to the top of that table with 4 points, thus securing the final semifinal ticket. Coach Yutaka Ikeuchi and his players therefore had to accept elimination from the group stage after their defeat to Indonesia's U19 in the previous match.

To close the group stage, four teams advanced to the 2026 AFF U19 semifinals: Indonesia, Thailand, Australia, and Cambodia. According to the schedule, Cambodia's U19 will face Thailand's U19, while Australia's U19 will take on hosts Indonesia for a spot in the final.