"After this tournament, the female players will be an example for them to strive to practice and encourage young players to strive," coach Mai Duc Chung said after the final match of the Vietnamese women's team at the 2023 Women's World Cup. He and his students did not win any matches or score any goals in the world arena, but the journey of 3 matches in New Zealand still had great inspirational value.
The Vietnamese women's team sang the national anthem for the first time at the World Cup.
Blow up the World Cup dream
"Yes, national pride and the glory of the world stage are what we feel. We are like you, the World Cup," Le Thi Bao Tram, captain of the Vietnam U19/U20 women's team, shared her emotions with VTC News reporters when watching her seniors sing the national anthem at the 2023 Women's World Cup.
Millions of fans follow every step of the Vietnamese women's team at the 2023 Women's World Cup. Next to the TV in a small room at the Vietnam Youth Football Training Center, young players also eagerly await each match.
" We gathered in the rooms and watched the matches. Not only did we watch the Vietnamese women's team compete, we watched as long as the match was not during practice time. We are so proud that the Vietnamese women's team has reached the world level. Although they are short in stature, their fighting spirit is worth learning from. We must try to be like that in the future ," said Bao Tram.
The U19 and U16 players are the generation that will follow their seniors in the journey to bring Vietnamese women's football to the World Cup for the second time.
The center back born in 2004 enthusiastically recounted the plays of Ms. Thu (Tran Thi Thu), Ms. Thao (Tran Thi Thu Thao)... even though she knew that millions of people were also watching the Vietnamese women's team compete.
"The women are less than 1m60 tall but always try to keep up with taller players, have longer strides, and run faster. The Vietnamese women's team is inferior in terms of physique and skill, but their fighting spirit, experience, and battle prowess are second to none," said Bao Tram.
The girl born in 2004 and her peers follow women's football - a field that is always associated with the words "difficult" and "hardship" in the media - partly because of the example of her seniors. One of the greatest achievements of the generation of Huynh Nhu, Chuong Thi Kieu, Pham Hai Yen... is to inspire the juniors with victories.
For Bao Tram, her role model is closer than anyone else. Her house in Ai Nghia town (Dai Loc district, Quang Nam province) is only a bridge away from her senior Tran Thi Thuy Trang.
"I often tease her that when she retires, or when I retire, she will still play football," said the captain of the Vietnam U19 women's team. Thuy Trang did not play any matches at the 2023 Women's World Cup, but just being named in the list of 23 players participating in the tournament at the age of 34 is already an encouraging story for her juniors.
It is the monuments like Tran Thi Thuy Trang who are giving confidence to young girls from the same hometown like Bao Tram and many other children. Women's football still has a future if each player is dedicated and tries hard for their career.
Vietnam women's team inspires younger generation.
The future is wide open for Huynh Nhu's younger generation
Players like Bao Tram come to football simply because of their youthful passion. After the age of 20, it is not certain that all young players will continue to follow the football path, when other worries gradually appear in life.
"At first, I simply played soccer for the school because I liked it. I didn't know anything about women's soccer or think about the distant future," Bao Tram recalled the time her uncle - a staff member of Quang Nam Club - introduced her to professional soccer practice.
However, the story of Vietnamese women's football may be different after the national team wins the right to participate in the World Cup. Bao Tram feels that, for example, just seeing her sisters compete in the World Cup is the motivation to stick with women's football, the future prospects like Thuy Trang, Huynh Nhu, Thanh Nha or more appear clearly as if they are right before her eyes.
The spread of the 2023 Women's World Cup has reached every small alley, anywhere there is a radio wave or a phone network. People watch the women's team on their small phones, on TVs or anything else.
This brings great benefits to the search for female soccer players. It must be recognized that there are still doubts from many parents about their daughters coming to the "shorts, numbered shirt" career. Women's soccer is still difficult, but there are certainly still great goals, enough to bring pride to the whole family and clan.
Bao Tram and her teammates were motivated by their senior's achievements.
Training young women's football even faces many challenges when players can be oriented to go to university, work in industrial zones or simply stay at home to sell goods. What football can promise better than its "competitors" is the glorious moments, such as once putting your hand on the red flag with a yellow star on the shirt and singing the national anthem at the World Cup. The respect of society, the pride of the country leads to a full life, when Vietnamese women's football improves.
Bao Tram and her teammates of the same age are experiencing the gradual change for the better in Vietnamese women's football. The Vietnamese U16 and U19 women's teams have only been maintained regularly in the last 5-7 years. Bao Tram's international competition experience at the U19 age group is more than Huynh Nhu and Thuy Trang's.
" I believe that women's football will find it easier to find players. Now, we get to compete in many international tournaments. When the team gathers, all the regimes are very good. We aspire to do things like our sisters and even more, " Bao Tram expressed her belief.
It would be unrealistic to expect that just one World Cup would transform Vietnamese women's football. But this is the most important foundation stone, to open up a new perspective on the potential of Vietnamese women. The national women's football championship will gradually develop more and has really changed strongly compared to a few years ago. Many youth tournaments are organized, the national women's team is invested in, these are things that are not easy to achieve.
Instead of a conclusion, let's listen to the comments of Thanh Nha - the leading star of Vietnamese women's football today: " People often think of us as stars. But no, I put my faith in the players who are 4-5 years younger than me. They are very talented, have basic training and possess a different level of football skills and thinking compared to our generation. Let's wait and see, they will do many things ."
There are still many young talents such as Ngoc Minh Chuyen, Le Thi Bao Tram, Tran Nhat Lan, Luu Hoang Van, Danh Thi Kieu My,... waiting for their chance to step into the light. The Vietnamese women's team will return to the World Cup!
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