From March 9th to 10th, 2024, the school football team participated in the VISA tournament. This tournament consisted of 6 international schools throughout Vietnam.
Before the tournament, the team played a friendly versus Saint Paul's Varsity team. The goal of this match was to get used to the rough and uneven pitch, and to build chemistry among teammates. We didn't start with our best line-up, but still led 2-1 after the first-half. In the second, the coach made a lot of substitutions, and each team scored 1 goal. We led 3-2, and almost closed out the match, however, we conceded a late goal and drew the game. It felt like a loss.
In my opinion, we did well to control the match, and played quite well. There were many good passign sequences, and I contributed to them. I believe the goals we conceded were defensive errors that could be avoided in the future.
On the day of the tournament, we had to play 2 group stage games. If we could just win 1, we would qualify for the semis. The first opponent was Saint Paul's JV team. We knew they were much weaker than us, so we started the game with our best team and went at them immediately. We dominated and scored 4 in the first half. We finished them off in the second, winning 11-1 in the end. I scored in the second half, a great finish near-post. The second match against AISVN was tougher. We still controlled the match, and had many chances, scoring 1 goal in the first half. In the second, we scored another. However, we again conceded 2 late goals due to more defensive errors, and drew 2-2. Everyone was dissapointed. I was also very sad, I didn't play well this match. At least we qualified on first place. 
On the second day, we started with the semi-final vs QSI. This match was the toughest of all, in my opinion, and both teams had equal possession and number of chances. At times, they were pressing us, and forced us back. However, we still scored, and the first-half ended 1-0. In the second half, QSI pressed us and had many chances through crossing the ball into their tall striker. This worked and they turned it around and led 2-1. By that point, we were shocked, and desperately attacked. I had a few shots that were saved. However, on the last minute, our center-back dribbled past 2 players and shot from far, striking the top corner. We celebrated in euphoria, the scenes were insane. Extra time passed like a breeze, and we were at penalties. QSI missed one, and we scored all, and we advanced to the final.
The final was against Saint Paul's Varsity team again. This time, they started much better than us, and had many great chances. We slowly got into the match, and had a few of our own. I even hit the bar from a tight angle. The first half ended 0-0. However, we started the second half by scoring 2 free kicks. After that, we stayed back and fended off SP's attacks. I have to praise our goalkeeper. He had at least 6 saves in the final, and was exceptional throughout the entire tournament. We had more chances from counter-attacks, scoring 2 more. We ended the final 4-0, and won the tournament.
Personally, I think I did well this tournament in following the tactics and passing sequences with my teammates. However, I think my positioning and runs need to improve in order to find myself more chances. I also need to finish the chances I have better, since I only scored once. That being said, I'm still very happy, and look forward to defending our title next year.
