Kazakhstan is a championship candidate, the opponent will bring many challenges to the Vietnamese team - Photo: AVC
At this point, domestic fans are carrying a lot of hope for the Vietnamese women's volleyball team. Although they showed dominance in the group stage, to be fair, they have not encountered any truly strong opponents.
Contrasting performance
It was not until the semi-finals that the real challenge appeared when coach Nguyen Tuan Kiet and his team faced Kazakhstan. This could be considered the early final of the tournament as the two teams are the brightest candidates for the championship of this year's AVC Nations Cup.
On the world rankings as of June 12, the Vietnamese women's volleyball team ranked 28th while their opponent ranked 31st. This partly reflects that the level between the two teams is not too different.
In the predecessor tournament of the AVC Nations Cup, the AVC Challenge Cup, coach Nguyen Tuan Kiet's team won consecutively in 2023 and 2024. Therefore, it can also be called the Vietnamese team as the defending champion of the tournament, even though the name has changed.
The Vietnamese women's volleyball team must not be complacent when facing Kazakhstan - Photo: AVC
It is worth mentioning that at the AVC Challenge Cup last year, Vietnam and Kazakhstan also faced each other twice in the group stage and the final. The joy of victory at that time belonged to the Vietnamese team. Therefore, in terms of head-to-head record, the Vietnamese girls have the advantage.
In terms of form, the home team is also better. The Vietnamese women's volleyball team passed the group stage with a perfect record of 3-0 wins. Meanwhile, Kazakhstan won 4, lost 1 and had a total of 5 lost sets.
It is worth mentioning that in the last match, they lost 0-3 to the Philippines despite being rated higher. This defeat pushed Kazakhstan to second place in Group B and had to meet Vietnam (first in Group A) in the semi-finals.
Sana Anarkulova - a regrettable absence
Kazakhstan will have to solve a difficult problem without captain Sana Anarkulova - Photo: AVC
Even in terms of strength, coach Nguyen Tuan Kiet also has an advantage over his counterpart on the other side of the battle line when all 14 athletes are in good shape.
Stars like Bich Tuyen and Thanh Thuy, although not playing much in the group stage, still managed to score a lot of points. The important thing is that there were no injuries that led to their absence in the semi-finals.
On the other hand, Kazakhstan lost their number one star, the main striker and captain Sana Anarkulova. In the match against Iran, she landed badly and was accidentally stepped on by an opposing player. Sana's injury was quite serious, making her consider to have left the tournament early.
Sana's absence was part of the reason why Kazakhstan lost so badly to the Philippines.
Sana's inability to play in the semi-final is a pity for many fans, including Vietnamese fans, because she had come here to play for Thanh Hoa Club in 2023.
In addition to personnel, the Vietnamese women's volleyball team also has home field advantage with the support of many fans.
With so many advantages, should they think about the final now? The answer is definitely no. Once they reach the semi-finals, any mistake cannot be corrected.
Despite having many advantages, subjectivity can cause the Vietnamese women's volleyball team to accept defeat. Remember that Kazakhstan is still a strong team, and the loss to the Philippines can be considered an "accident", which is common in sports .
Even such a failure can make them stronger by seeing the weaknesses that need to be overcome.
Besides, despite the absence of Sana, Kazakhstan still has quality scorers who have created many points in the group stage such as Tatyana Nikitina (55 points), Margarita Belchenko (53 points), Yulia Yakimova, Saniya Balagazinova (37 points).
Moreover, the previous victories of the Vietnamese women's volleyball team against Kazakhstan did not come easily.
Therefore, coach Nguyen Tuan Kiet and his team cannot be complacent. They must overcome Kazakhstan to have the right to think about the final match, the championship and an official ticket to the 2026 Asian Championship.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/bong-chuyen-nu-viet-nam-co-phai-lo-lang-ve-kazakhstan-20250613000053722.htm
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