The female players have fulfilled the World Cup dream for Vietnam. (Photo: Manh Hung/VNA)
On July 17, The New York Times published an article by journalist Jere Longman expressing his impression of the development of Vietnamese Women's Football when the Vietnamese Women's Team participated for the first time in a Women's World Cup Finals.
According to the newspaper, when Vietnam established its first National Women's Football Team in 1997, the players had to wear oversized shirts meant for the men's team.
Sometimes, the team had to travel an hour and a half from Ho Chi Minh City to the training site. Some players even had to earn a living by selling bread to be able to continue their playing career.
The Vietnam Football Federation (VFF), the governing body of football in the country, was not established until 1989. In its early days, football was widely considered a male sport .
Therefore, football does not seem to be a desirable career choice for girls. In addition, many parents do not want their daughters to pursue this physically demanding sport.
A quarter of a century later, Vietnam has emerged as one of the dominant women’s teams in Southeast Asia. In July, the Vietnam Women’s National Football Team will make its first appearance at the 2023 World Cup, starting with a match against the defending champions, the United States.
Vietnam's participation is the result of a nearly decade-long plan to develop women's football, in part through increasing the number of teams participating in the World Cup from 16 to 24 and now to 32, making this year's tournament the biggest in history.
This is the most important moment for Vietnamese football and other first-time participating teams such as Haiti, Ireland, Morocco and the Philippines.
This means female players will become more famous and receive sponsorships and financial rewards as the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the global governing body of football, has promised at least $30,000 to each player participating in this year's tournament.
But it is also the expansion of the number of participating teams that will lead to a serious competitive imbalance as new teams enter the tournament and have to face the best opponents in the world.
Article about Vietnam Women's Football Team published in The New York Times.
Vietnam beat archrivals Thailand to qualify for the 2023 Women's World Cup. But Vietnam is also under pressure to avoid a repeat of embarrassing performances, such as Thailand's 13-0 loss to the United States at the 2019 Women's World Cup.
“We witnessed Thailand’s failure, and that was a lesson for Vietnam,” said Huynh Nhu, star striker of the Vietnam Women’s Team.
Participating in the Women's World Cup is the way for the Vietnam Women's Team to show national pride and affirm Vietnam's sporting achievements in the international arena.
In his welcoming remarks to the players after qualifying for the 2023 Women's World Cup Finals, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh called them "diamond girls."
The players were paraded on a double-decker bus through the streets of Ho Chi Minh City. In addition, the matches of the Vietnam Women's Team at the 2023 Women's World Cup will be broadcast live on many media platforms for home audiences to watch and cheer.
The New York Times commented: “The Vietnamese Women's Team has gone further than anyone else. Vietnamese women have now become representatives of the country."
The article also tells the story of Nguyen Thi Bich Thuy, from a little girl whose family opposed her football career to the hero who helped the Vietnamese Women's Team qualify for the World Cup.
Bich Thuy scored the most important goal for the Vietnam Women's Team with a deft touch with her right foot and a historic decisive shot with her left foot to bring home a 2-1 victory in the play-off match against Chinese Taipei in 2022.
Sharing about this goal, Bich Thuy said: “I still feel like it is a dream. My father always had high expectations for me. I am sure my father will be very happy to see that.”
Footballer Huynh Nhu signs autographs for fans. (Photo: Truong Anh Ngoc/VNA)
As for Huynh Nhu, the team's number one star, her parents have unconditional support. Her father, a former player, started coaching her when she was only 3 or 4 years old.
Huynh Nhu will lead the attack of the Vietnam Women's Football Team, with the task of scoring goals at the World Cup - a more achievable goal than hoping to win a "death" group including the US, the Netherlands (World Cup 2019 runner-up) and Portugal.
The leading American newspaper highly appreciated Huynh Nhu, especially emphasizing the journey abroad of the striker from Tra Vinh when he played for Lank FC of Portugal.
According to The New York Times, more than any other Vietnamese player, Huynh Nhu, 31 years old, represents the ability and erases the inequality with women's football around the world.
She is the first Vietnamese female player to play for a European team, scoring seven goals last season for Lank FC in the Portuguese National Championship.
After the World Cup, Huynh Nhu is expected to renew her contract with the club, which is said to have offered to double her salary to 3,000 euros (about 3,200 USD per month)./.
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