Vietnamese women target football glory in Thailand

By Hoang Nguyen, Dong HuyenAugust 15, 2019 | 05:46 am PT
Vietnamese women target football glory in Thailand
Vietnam women's football team in training. Photo courtesy of Vietnam Football Federation.
The national women's football coach has set sights on winning the upcoming AFF Women’s Championship in Chonbury, Thailand.

"We are determined to take the top position," coach Mai Duc Chung told local media on the eve of the 23-member team’s departure for Thailand on Tuesday.

"The team will focus to achieve the best result in each match," he said.

The team has many popular players including midfielder Nguyen Thi Tuyet Dung (Ha Nam), defenders Pham Thi Tuoi (Ha Nam) and Tran Thi Kim Thanh (Ho Chi Minh City), and strikers Huynh Nhu (Ho Chi Minh City) and Pham Hai Yen (Hanoi).

The team completed a 10-day training program in Japan before their departure.

Vietnam has been drawn in Group B, together with Myanmar, Cambodia and Indonesia at the 2019 AFF Women’s Championship. Group A has Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Timor Leste.

Vietnam will play Cambodia in their first match on August 16. The tournament ends on August 25.

The participating teams will play in a round robin format, with the top two finishers from each group qualifying for the semifinals.

Vietnam finished third at last year's event, which Thailand won by defeating U20 Australia 3-2 in the final.

They won the gold medal in SEA Games 2017.

The AFF Women’s Cup is an important warm-up for teams that will take part in the next SEA Games in November and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics qualifiers.

FIFA has expanded the number of teams in Women’s World Cup from 24 to 32 for the 2023 edition, giving Vietnam, who are among the top six teams in Asia, more chances to participate in the biggest women’s football competition.

Tran Quoc Tuan, vice president of Vietnam Football Federation, said: "With the current form, they are totally capable of competing for a ticket to World Cup."

 
 
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