The 2025 AVC Nations Cup championship shows that the Vietnamese women's team is superior to its opponents - Photo: NGOC LE
If in 2023 and 2024, the title of coach Nguyen Tuan Kiet and his team still faced some difficulties, this year they dominated so completely that they knew the result before even entering the field.
Lack of competition
The third consecutive championship of the Vietnamese women's volleyball team shows a strong transformation of the whole team after a long period of poor performance in the international arena. But we also need to face a reality: the AVC Nations Cup is gradually losing its competitiveness.
In theory, before the tournament, there were 4 teams with similar levels of ability to compete for the championship, including Vietnam, Kazakhstan, Philippines and Indonesia. But in reality, Indonesia did not bring the strongest squad to the tournament.
Kazakhstan is increasingly declining with a new generation of young but inexperienced athletes. Meanwhile, the Philippines is a serious team in the tournament but is not qualified enough to compete with Bich Tuyen, Thanh Thuy, Bich Thuy of Vietnam.
The AVC Nations Cup is Asia's second-tier tournament, similar to the Europa League in football. In previous years, the winner of this tournament earned a ticket to the international FIVB Challenger Cup.
This year, the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) and the Asian Volleyball Federation (AVC) changed many formats and abolished the FIVB Challenger Cup. Therefore, the prize for the AVC Nations Cup champion is only a ticket to the 2026 Asian Championship. For Kazakhstan, the Philippines, Indonesia or even Chinese Taipei, this is too easy for them. Perhaps that is why the AVC Nations Cup is gradually losing its appeal.
Vietnamese volleyball needs a higher playing field than the AVC Nations Cup - Photo: TTO
Need new playground
It is not known whether there will be any significant changes to the AVC Nations Cup next year. But if the tournament continues like this, perhaps the Vietnamese women's volleyball team should aim for new, higher-level, more competitive playgrounds.
But it won’t be easy. With the FIVB Challenger Cup gone, the only higher-level tournament left on the annual competition grid is the Volleyball Nations League (VNL). That’s where the world’s top teams compete.
If they compete in this tournament, the Vietnamese women’s volleyball team will have the opportunity to compete and gain experience. That is what Thailand has done for many years. Although they often lose to strong teams, the level of Thai athletes has improved significantly.
But to participate in VNL is not easy. According to the new format applied from this year, the tournament has 18 participating teams. The team ranked last at the end of the season will be eliminated the following year. The replacement team is the team with the highest ranking in the world rankings but is not allowed to participate in VNL this year.
That means to be able to participate in this tournament, the Vietnamese team must be at least in the top 18 in the world. But reaching that ranking is not simple. After the recent AVC Nations Cup, despite winning like a knife, the Vietnamese women's team only jumped to 25th place (the highest in history). Therefore, the Vietnamese girls will need a lot of time to accumulate enough points to jump to higher rankings.
The team will soon participate in the Women's Volleyball World Championship for the first time in August. It is also a big playground, an opportunity for the whole team to learn experience and look towards the future.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/bong-chuyen-nu-viet-nam-can-muc-tieu-cao-hon-20250617111327842.htm
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