Vietnam to play Women's World Cup host New Zealand

Vietnam captain Huynh Nhu during a game. Photo by VnExpres/Duc Dong

The match will take place on July 10 at McLean Park Stadium, Napier City. This is New Zealand's last friendly match before playing in the opening match of the World Cup against Norway on July 20.

"The friendly match with Vietnam is very important," said New Zealand coach Jitka Klimkova. "We want to play in the World Cup with the best form."

New Zealand is the co-host of the 2023 Women's World Cup with Australia. They are in group A with Norway, Switzerland and the Philippines. New Zealand are ranked 25th in the world, below Norway (12th), Switzerland (20th) and above the Philippines (49th).

Vietnam’s women’s team are currently in Nepal to compete in the first qualifying round of the 2024 Olympic Paris. In the first leg, Vietnam defeated Nepal 5-1. The second leg will take place on Sunday. After returning home and resting, the team will travel to Japan to train for two weeks and then attend SEA Games 32 in Cambodia in May.

After the SEA Games, Vietnam will go to Germany to train for three weeks and have a friendly match with the German national women's team and a German club. The team will arrive in New Zealand on July 6 to prepare for the friendly with the host.

"Playing against New Zealand is a good opportunity for me to assess our preparation for the tournament," head coach Mai Duc Chung said. "However, that match is also close to the World Cup, so we need to calculate to limit unwanted injuries. New Zealand are one of the two hosts, so we really appreciate this match."

Vietnam will also have another friendly match with Spain before entering the World Cup where they will play against the United States on July 22, Portugal on July 27 and the Netherlands on August 1.

therlands on August 1.