African-origin prodigy creates a major sensation in Vietnam's youth tournament

African-origin player Adu Favour delivers an impressive performance in the match between U15 Ho Chi Minh City and U15 Tay Ninh.

This afternoon (April 2), following the opening ceremony of the National U15 Championship Finals – Modern Cup 2026, the first two matches of Group A took place at Thanh Long Sports Center (Ho Chi Minh City). Notably, despite leading 2-0, U15 Ho Chi Minh City allowed U15 Tay Ninh to stage a comeback and secure a 4-3 victory thanks to a decisive penalty kick in the final moments of stoppage time.

Immediately after the opening ceremony, the contest between U15 Ho Chi Minh City and U15 Tay Ninh unfolded as an exciting match that lived up to expectations. With the advantage of playing at home, the young Ho Chi Minh City players started proactively and quickly applied pressure on their opponent's goal. In the 10th minute, from a coordinated attacking play, Cao Thanh Danh executed a beautiful shot from over 30 meters away, opening the scoring with a 1-0 lead for the home team.

After the goal, Ho Chi Minh City continued to maintain a dominant game state and created numerous dangerous opportunities. In the starting lineup of U15 Ho Chi Minh City, the African-origin player Adu Favour – who resides and studies in Ho Chi Minh City – was featured.

Given the Vietnamese name Huynh Duc by his family, this player performed prominently and contributed vitality to the home team's attack. In the 26th minute, Ho Chi Minh City scored their second goal when Nguyen Hung finished accurately, raising the score to 2-0. Leading by two goals, the home team slowed down their play and actively controlled the match, while Tay Ninh faced many difficulties in organizing their attacks. Nevertheless, before the first half concluded, the Tay Ninh goalkeeper made an excellent save to prevent the visiting team from conceding another goal.

Entering the second half, U15 Tay Ninh pushed their formation higher and played with greater determination. In the 53rd minute, Anh Hao finished from close range to narrow the score to 1-2, reigniting hope for the Southeastern region team. By the 62nd minute, from a free-kick situation, Huu Quang headed in to equalize 2-2 following a lapse in concentration by the Ho Chi Minh City defense.

Not stopping there, U15 Ho Chi Minh City faced further disadvantage when Anh Khoa received his second yellow card and had to leave the field in the 66th minute. Playing with fewer players, the home team gradually lost their grip on the match. Seizing the opportunity, Tuan Anh scored to increase the lead to 3-2 for Tay Ninh.

Under pressure, Ho Chi Minh City managed to rally and equalized 3-3 in the 82nd minute thanks to a close-range header by Dan Nguyen from a set-piece situation, bringing an eruption of joy to the spectators in the stadium.

However, the drama escalated further in stoppage time at 90+4 minutes when Ho Chi Minh City committed a foul inside the penalty area. The referee awarded Tay Ninh a penalty kick, and the visiting team successfully capitalized on it to seal an emotional 4-3 victory.

In the other match of Group A, SLNA I secured a narrow 2-1 victory over Ninh Binh in the final minutes, thus achieving a favorable start in the finals.

Vietnamese diaspora prodigy nearly 2 meters tall currently causing a sensation in Europe emerges

OFFICIAL: Series of Vietnamese football prodigies receive extremely joyful verdict