Vietnam U23s have never beaten China U23s in official football competition

Ahead of the semifinal at the AFC U23 Asian Cup 2026, optimism is running high among Vietnamese fans, fueled by the Vietnamese team’s encouraging recent results.

However, statistics indicated that Vietnam have only managed to get the better of the Chinese players in friendly competitions.

There is no denying the significant progress Vietnamese football has made against China over the past five years.

Vietnam's most notable U23-level victories both came on Chinese soil: a convincing 2-0 win in Wuhan in 2019, and a more recent 1-0 triumph at the Panda Cup in November 2025.

However, these tournaments were, by nature, friendly competitions.

The psychological pressure was lighter, and teams often rotated and experimented with line-ups.

The results did not determine qualification or continental titles.

In contrast, when it comes to official competitions such as the Asian Games or continental qualifiers, history tilts decisively in favor of China’s U23 team.

At the Asian Games in 2002 and 2010, Vietnam’s U23 team were comprehensively beaten by China, suffering defeats of 0-2 and 0-3, respectively.

Even Vietnam's celebrated 3-1 victory on Lunar New Year’s Day in 2022 came at senior national team level during World Cup qualifiers, not in U23 competition.

This was Vietnam’s only win in nine official encounters with China at the senior level.

Vietnam will take on China in the semifinal match of the 2026 AFC U23 Asian Cup at 10:30 pm next Tuesday.