South Korea, considered favorites ahead of the match, began on the front foot, pushing aggressively from the start. U22 Vietnam tried to counter with pace down the right wing through Thanh Nhan and Anh Quan, but the Koreans were sharp and nearly took the lead in the 17th minute, only for the goal to be ruled out for offside.

The breakthrough came in the 32nd minute, when U22 South Korea executed a well-rehearsed set-piece routine. A free kick from the left was headed down inside the box, allowing Kim Myung-jun to finish from close range.

In the second half, the East Asian side maintained control and continued to test goalkeeper Trung Kien. Although Vietnam fought with great determination, they struggled to create clear chances and suffered another blow when captain Van Truong was injured in a collision and taken to hospital for examination.

The 0–1 loss meant U22 Vietnam ended their Panda Cup campaign with one win and two defeats, collecting just three points. The title race was then left to be decided by the final match between hosts U22 China and U22 Uzbekistan.

Goal: Kim Myung-jun (32’)

Starting line-ups

U22 Vietnam: Trung Kien, Van Ha (Hieu Minh 58’), Tuan Phong, Duc Anh, Anh Quan (Minh Phuc 46’), Thai Son (Quoc Cuong 46’), Van Truong, Van Khang (Phi Hoang 46’), Dinh Bac, Quoc Viet, Thanh Nhan (Viktor Le 58’)

U22 South Korea: Hong Seong-min, Kang Min-jun, Jo Hyun-tae, Park Seung-ho, Kim Dong-jin, Kim Myung-jun, Kim Han-seo, Kang Seong-jin, Kim Do-hyun, Park Seong-hun, Shin Min-ha

Thien Binh