Fans at a watch party on Lê Lợi Street, Hồ Chí Minh City celebrating Việt Nam's 2-2 equaliser against Thailand. VNA/VNS Photo Trung Tuyến

Anh Đức

Fans who follow the Việt Nam national football and futsal teams have had a crazy week, going through a range of emotions in the final days of the SEA Games in Thailand. 

The week started on Tuesday in disappointment as the Việt Nam men's futsal team lost their opening match 2-4 against Malaysia, a team 50 places below them in the FIFA Rankings. Việt Nam was on good form going into the tournament, winning eight and drawing just one in 2025.

However, injuries to core players forced a new generation to step up, and despite leading early, Diego Giustozzi's team conceded four stunning goals in a row. The defeat put a dent in the team's chase for gold, and at the end of the tournament, they even fell off the podium to none other than Malaysia.

On Wednesday, the Việt Nam national women's football team went to their fifth consecutive SEA Games Final, against a rising force in ASEAN women's football: the Philippines, packed with expat players from the United States and the team with a much more physical advantage.

But it was Việt Nam who were the better side during most parts of the match, playing intrinsic short passes and team play. It was Việt Nam's 1.53m striker Nguyễn Thị Bích Thuỳ that rose above and headed in the back of their opponent's net first, despite the aforementioned advantages.

Fans jumped in exultation but soon sat down in disappointment, bewilderment and eventually anger, as the lineswoman wrongfully flagged Thuỳ for offside. The Golden Star Women Warriors held on to take the game to penalties, and despite giving it their all, anger into tears and a feeling of what could have been had Thuỳ's goal been given. 

But when the 11-a-side women's football team came up short, the women's futsal team stepped up and claimed the crown convincingly, with a historic first-ever women's futsal gold medal for Việt Nam. A 5-0 victory against Indonesia showed that women's football and futsal in Việt Nam have a lot to be proud about, and many future chances to cement their legacy as the queens of ASEAN football. 

The sadness soon turned into worries over the men's football final one day later. Questionable refereeing decisions and clumsy organising mistakes were perhaps this SEA Games' most notorious characteristics. The Việt Nam - Thailand football tie, a game dubbed by many as the 'El Clasico' of ASEAN football, was also a game associated with referee controversies in the past.

As the teams step up to the field of Rajamangala National Stadium, the worries edged away. It was a normal and fair game of football, with referee Mooud Bonyadifard making on point decisions that both sides agreed. But the worries returned, albeit in a different form, as Việt Nam conceded two quick goals in the first half from Yotsakorn Burapha and Seksan Ratree.

The millennials who followed Việt Nam's golden generations of Nguyễn Hồng Sơn, Lê Huỳnh Đức and Trần Tiến Anh remember vividly the beast that is Thailand national team. In the late 90s and early 2000s, Việt Nam could beat almost any team but often failed at the last hurdle when they faced Thailand. And in the first half, it seemed as if that beast had returned once again.

What transpired in the remaining time was nothing short of 'absolute cinema'. Sublime substitutions from coach Kim Sang-sik completed the unbelievable 3-2 comeback, sending the nation into football frenzy once again. 

It was an exhilarating SEA Games campaign to cap off an exciting 2025 for Việt Nam, and who knows what's in store in 2026? VNS