AFF Cup 2025 Rankings: Vietnam Women's Team Must Beat Thailand to Reach Top 1

The Vietnamese women's team, with many changes, won against Indonesia, causing coach Mai Duc Chung and his team to temporarily fall below and have to beat Thailand in the final match of Group A.

Hai Linh and Hoang Thi Loan celebrate Hai Yen's goal for the Vietnam women's team

Photo: Minh Tu

Vietnam women's team rotates its forces

At Lach Tray Stadium on the evening of August 9, the Vietnamese women's team entered the second match of the 2025 Southeast Asian Women's Football Championship (AFF Cup 2025) with 8 new positions compared to the starting lineup in the first match against the Cambodian women's team.

This shows that coach Mai Duc Chung's calculation is not to compete for goal difference with Thailand (with 2 wins with the same score of 7-0, goal difference of 14-0), but to give the opportunity to play in the starting lineup to names who have not or have rarely played in the previous matches.

Highlight of Vietnam women's team 7-0 Indonesia: 10-point win

Notably, in the starting lineup against Indonesia, the Vietnamese women's team had very young names such as Thu Xuan (22 years old), Truc Huong, Thu Thuong (25 years old)... and then Hai Linh, Thanh Nha (born in 2001)...

Coach Mai Duc Chung believes in his students' abilities

Photo: Minh Tu

The turmoil combined with many players needing time to get into the rhythm of the game caused the Vietnamese team to create many opportunities but their finishing was not sharp enough, on a day when Indonesia played with great determination and dedication. But things improved clearly in the second half.

Determined to win directly against Thailand

Leaving the field with a 7-0 victory scored by Bich Thuy, Hoang Thi Loan, Hai Yen (2 goals), Van Su, Thu Thao, Tuyet Dung means that the Vietnamese women's team is temporarily ranked second in Group A, with the same 6 points but ranked below Thailand due to an inferior goal difference (+13 compared to +14).

But looking at the way coach Mai Duc Chung changed 8/11 starting positions, it can be seen that this old general does not put much emphasis on the goal race. Instead, he only focuses on the plan for the Vietnamese women's team to directly defeat Thailand in the final round on August 12, instead of considering the option of a draw and comparing the extra score.

The Vietnamese women's team has successfully completed two warm-up matches.

Photo: Minh Tu

This shows the confidence of coach Mai Duc Chung as well as the Vietnamese team, especially when we get to play at home in Lach Tray, with the enthusiastic cheers of Hai Phong fans (there were more than 13,000 fans present at Lach Tray on the night of August 9).

It should also be added that the goal of both the Vietnamese and Thai women's teams is to win the top spot in Group A to gain an advantage in the semi-finals. At the moment, Group B sees Myanmar and the Philippines leading with 3 points while Australia is empty-handed after the first match.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/bang-xep-hang-aff-cup-2025-doi-tuyen-nu-viet-nam-phai-thang-thai-lan-moi-len-top-1-185250809212632588.htm