Thai newspaper bluntly states one thing when Vietnam faces Australia in the ASEAN semifinals.

Thai media candidly evaluates Vietnam U17 as the championship contender for ASEAN 2026, ahead of the challenging clash with reigning champion Australia U17 in the semifinals.

Thai media has made noteworthy assessments regarding the journey of Vietnam U17 at the ASEAN U17 Championship 2026, especially as coach Cristiano Roland and his team prepare for the semifinal match against Australia U17.

Accordingly, the Thai site Idoojung recently shared its thoughts on Vietnam U17's excellent entry into the ASEAN U17 Championship semifinals, while Thailand U17 was eliminated in the group stage by Laos. The Idoojung site wrote: "Thailand U17, under the guidance of coach 'Koach Toey' Sirisak Yodyardthai, caused a major shock.

They unexpectedly suffered a comeback defeat by Laos U17 with a 3-2 score in the final group stage match of the ASEAN U17 Championship 2026. This result led to Thailand U17's official elimination, while Laos U17 made history by securing a spot in the semifinals.

Meanwhile, Vietnam U17 immediately became the top contender for the championship, after eliminating host Indonesia U17, similar to Thailand U17."

This assessment shows that the Golden Temple nation's media highly values the strength and stability of Vietnam U17 in this year's tournament.

In reality, Vietnam U17 concluded the group stage of the ASEAN U17 Championship 2026 with a 0-0 draw against host Indonesia, thereby securing a semifinal spot as Group A leader. Coach Cristiano Roland's team earned 7 points after 3 matches, while maintaining an impressive record of not conceding any goals.

Previously, Vietnam U17 demonstrated devastating form with heavy victories of 4-0 against Malaysia and 10-0 against Timor Leste. Not only possessing an explosive attack, the team's defense also operates extremely solidly, becoming one of the most balanced squads in the tournament.

Sharing after the draw with Indonesia, coach Cristiano Roland admitted he was surprised that the opponent chose a defensive approach, despite needing a win to keep hopes alive. He stated that the coaching staff had thoroughly prepared a plan to counter a scenario of strong pressing from the host team.

In the semifinal round on April 22, Vietnam U17 will face reigning champion Australia U17. This is predicted to be the biggest challenge since the start of the tournament, but with current form, the Vietnamese representative has solid grounds to aim for a ticket to the final.