Vietnam's under-15 team recovered from an opening defeat at the FIFA U15 World Cup & Festival 2026 in Azerbaijan by winning twice on 25 October, beating Brunei 6-0 and Mauritius 4-1. Coach Hoàng Anh Tuấn's side, who lost 3-6 to Bosnia & Herzegovina on 24 October, now have 6 points from 3 matches in Group R, with 13 goals scored and 7 conceded, according to Dan Tri.
A World Cup built differently
The event in Baku, running from 24 to 30 October, is the first world championship FIFA has staged at under-15 level, Tuoi Tre reported. All 211 member associations were invited and there was no qualifying round. Teams were drawn into 32 groups and play four or five round-robin games each before being sorted into six tiers, A to F, according to results. Nobody is knocked out early: every team is guaranteed at least nine matches, and only the Tier A winner is recognised as the FIFA U15 World Cup & Festival champion.
The football itself is eight-a-side. Dan Tri explained that games are played on half of a full-size pitch with full-size goals, offside applies only in the final third, and throw-ins are replaced by kick-ins as in futsal. Bongdaplus added that substitutions are unlimited. Each half lasts 20 minutes, which is why Vietnam's goals in minutes 32, 34 and 37 against Brunei all came after the break.
How the two wins unfolded
The Brunei game kicked off at 13:15 Vietnam time. According to the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF), Vận Tài opened the scoring on nine minutes with an angled finish on the counter. Xuân Vinh doubled the lead a minute later from Tuấn Bảo's low cross and converted a penalty on 16 minutes. Phước An headed in from a corner after the interval, and Anh Hào and Quang Hưng completed the 6-0 win.
Against Mauritius at 20:00, Vietnam were briefly pegged back. Phước An struck on 12 minutes before Ethan Hitié equalised for Mauritius on 23. Vận Tài restored the lead on 27 and added another on 38, and Xuân Vinh sealed the 4-1 win in the first minute of stoppage time.
Vietnam's scorers on 25 October, compiled by KBVN+ from the VFF match reports:
| Player | v Brunei (6-0) | v Mauritius (4-1) | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Xuân Vinh | 10', 16' (pen) | 40+1' | 3 |
| Vận Tài | 9' | 27', 38' | 3 |
| Phước An | 32' | 12' | 2 |
| Anh Hào | 34' | – | 1 |
| Quang Hưng | 37' | – | 1 |
Group R and the rest of Southeast Asia
Group R has six teams. Dan Tri's table after the Mauritius game had Vietnam third on 6 points, behind Bosnia & Herzegovina (9 points) and Iran (6 points) and ahead of Mauritius (4 points), Guyana (1 point) and Brunei (0 points). The paper said Vietnam had climbed from Tier D to Tier C in the provisional ranking.
Other Southeast Asian results reported by Tuoi Tre and Dan Tri on 25 October, compiled by KBVN+:
| Team | Results |
|---|---|
| Malaysia | beat Syria 3-1, beat Ethiopia 5-0 |
| Thailand | lost to Slovakia 2-3, beat Samoa 3-0 |
| Laos | drew with Bahrain 1-1, lost to Cameroon 1-6 |
| Singapore | lost to Honduras 0-3, lost to Canada 0-6 |
| Indonesia | lost to Wales 0-3 |
| Cambodia | lost to Nicaragua 1-4 |
| Philippines | lost to Liberia 0-1 |
| Brunei | lost to Vietnam 0-6, lost to Iran 0-6 |
Tuoi Tre noted that Malaysia were the only Southeast Asian side with a perfect record after two rounds. Thailand led Slovakia twice before losing 2-3, while Indonesia, 7-1 winners over Fiji in their opener, lost 0-3 to Wales in round two. Singapore, Myanmar, Cambodia and Timor-Leste were also beaten in that round.
What comes next
Vietnam's schedule for 26 October holds their last two Group R games, against Iran and Guyana, according to the VFF and Dan Tri. Iran are level with Vietnam on points and beat Brunei 6-0, while Guyana have one point. The full group-stage record decides which of the six tiers Vietnam enter for the second phase.
No Vietnamese broadcaster bought the rights, Bongdaplus reported, but matches stream free on FIFA+ after registration. Our report on the opener is here: Vietnam U15 lose 3-6 to Bosnia & Herzegovina. Upcoming games for Vietnam's senior and youth teams are listed on the Vietnam national team fixtures page.