Vietnam's U15 team drew 2-2 with Rwanda in regulation time and lost 4-2 on penalties on 28 October in the Tier C round of 32 at the FIFA U15 World Cup & Festival 2026 in Azerbaijan. The defeat ends Hoang Anh Tuan's side's hopes of finishing between 65th and 80th and sends them into the bracket for places 81 to 96. VFF president Tran Quoc Tuan and Arsene Wenger, FIFA's Chief of Global Football Development, watched from the stands.
A two-goal lead slips away
The game kicked off at 15:45 Vietnam time, according to Tuoi Tre. Nguyen Xuan Vinh opened the scoring in the first half, cutting in from the right and curling a left-footed shot home. In the 29th minute a powerful free kick from Truong Van Tai squirmed out of the Rwandan goalkeeper's hands for an own goal, according to the VFF and Tuoi Tre; Dan Tri credited the goal to Van Tai himself, from almost 30 metres.
Rwanda hit back twice in quick succession. Dan Tri reported that Bruce scored from a free kick in the 35th minute and Samuel equalised with an angled shot in the 36th, and said Vietnam faded physically late on against the African side. In the shootout, Truong Van Tai and Nguyen Khac Hieu missed, Tuoi Tre reported, and Rwanda won 4-2 to reach the Tier C round of 16.
An unusual format
The tournament, which runs from 24 to 30 October, is the first FIFA has organised for the under-15 age group, according to Tuoi Tre. Teams field eight players on a pitch almost half the size of a standard 11-a-side field, and matches last 40 minutes, split into two 20-minute halves. After the group stage, teams are placed into tiers based on their results to decide final rankings, and nobody is eliminated.
Vietnam finished third in Group R with nine points from five games, Bongda24h reported:
| Group opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| Brunei | Won 6-0 |
| Mauritius | Won 4-1 |
| Guyana | Won 2-1 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | Lost 3-6 |
| Iran | Lost 3-4 |
That placed them in Tier C, for places 65 to 96, alongside Thailand and Indonesia. Malaysia were the only Southeast Asian side to reach Tier B, for places 33 to 64, after finishing second in Group H with three wins, one draw and one defeat, Bongda24h added.
Encouragement from the VFF president
Tran Quoc Tuan travelled to Azerbaijan at the invitation of FIFA president Gianni Infantino. After the match he met the players and staff and stressed that the event was about gaining international experience and exchanges as much as results, the VFF reported. Thanh Nien said Wenger, the former Arsenal manager, expressed regret that Vietnam had played well yet lost on penalties, and Tuoi Tre noted that he stayed behind for photos with the squad.
What comes next
In the 81-96 bracket Vietnam's next opponents are Nicaragua, in a match Tuoi Tre listed for 22:30 Vietnam time on 28 October. When this article was published, neither the VFF nor the source newspapers had reported the result. Classification matches continue until 30 October. Results and fixtures for Vietnam's youth teams are tracked on the Vietnam national team fixtures page.