Coach Nguyen Hong Pham and captain Huynh Nhu confidently appeared at the pre-tournament press conference - Photo: ANH KHOA
On the afternoon of November 12th, a press conference was held in Ho Chi Minh City ahead of the opening round of Group A matches in the 2025-2026 AFC Women's Champions League. The opening round of Group A features Ho Chi Minh City Women's Club, Stallion Laguna (Philippines), Melbourne City (Australia), and Lion City Sailors (Singapore).
The Ho Chi Minh City women's club will face Stallion Laguna (Philippines) at 7 PM tomorrow (November 13th) at Thong Nhat Stadium.
To continue performing well in this year's tournament, the Ho Chi Minh City women's club has hired six foreign players, including two new players compared to last year. Last season, coach Doan Thi Kim Chi's team made history by reaching the semi-finals, losing 0-2 to the host team Wuhan Jiangda (China).
Because she does not yet have a professional coaching license (Pro license) as required by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), Coach Kim Chi will work as an assistant to Head Coach Nguyen Hong Pham. However, all decisions regarding personnel and tactics for the team will still be handled by Kim Chi.
Speaking before the tournament, coach Nguyen Hong Pham shared: "We had a week of training in Hanoi with two friendly matches against the Vietnamese women's national team. Currently, everyone is ready and highly determined to achieve the best possible results in the qualifying round."
Coach Nguyen Hong Pham and Coach Ernest Nierras shake hands at the press conference - Photo: ANH KHOA
"Our goal is to go as far as possible, which means we will try our best to win every match. Just like breaking the jinx of reaching the semi-finals last year, this year we aim to go even further," Mr. Pham added.
Speaking about the integration of the six foreign players, coach Nguyen Hong Pham said: "The good news is that they have all integrated very quickly in training as well as in daily life."
I firmly believe that we will continue to work together, leveraging our strengths of unity, determination, and never giving up."
For her part, captain Huynh Nhu said: "Coming to this tournament, my goal, as well as that of the whole team, is to win each match and advance to the next round."
Besides the four foreign players who competed last season, the two new players have also integrated very quickly with their teammates. I hope these foreign players will bring a fresh perspective to the Ho Chi Minh City women's club in the tournament."
Meanwhile, coach Ernest Nierras (Stallion Laguna FC) said: "Currently, our team has 6-7 players in the national team, so this tournament is an opportunity for our players to train for the upcoming SEA Games 33."
When asked if he knew anything about the Ho Chi Minh City women's club, coach Ernest Nierras said: "Over the years, I have faced the Vietnamese women's national team many times and usually lost. Recently, with the AFC allowing naturalization of players, I hope the Philippine women's national team will have a fairer competition with opponents from the continent and the world ."
"Specifically in this match, let's not forget that we are a Southeast Asian family, so the competition between countries in the region will help women's football in Southeast Asia develop even stronger."
Unlike the Ho Chi Minh City women's club, which qualified directly for the group stage, Stallion Laguna had to compete in the qualifying round to secure their spot. They won against Khovd Western (Mongolia) 6-1 and Strykers (Guam) 13-0, but lost to ISPE (Myanmar) 1-3.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/clb-nu-tp-hcm-huong-den-tran-chung-ket-lich-su-chau-luc-20251112121254951.htm
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