Vietnam women's futsal team plays Philippines at a very dangerous time: A battle for survival

The Vietnamese women's futsal team won their opening match and temporarily topped Group B. However, coach Nguyen Dinh Hoang's team still has many points to improve if they want to go deep in the continental arena.

The Vietnamese women's futsal team (ranked 11th in the world , ranked 4th in Asia) played their first match in the 2025 Asian women's futsal finals against Hong Kong (ranked 29th in the world, ranked 10th in Asia) yesterday afternoon, May 7, in China. Hong Kong is an equal opponent to coach Nguyen Dinh Hoang's team in Group B. However, the Vietnamese girls made fans nervous. When the match entered halftime, the Vietnamese women's futsal team was leading with a score of 3-1. Chan Wing Sze (own goal), Le Thi Thanh Ngan and Tran Thi Thu Xuan were the names that scored the goal against the Hong Kong women's futsal team. On the other side, Poon Ka Ka scored.

The match became extremely exciting in the second half when 4 more goals were scored, witnessing the strong rise of the Hong Kong women's futsal team. When the second half had not passed 3 minutes, the Hong Kong women's futsal team scored 2 consecutive goals to equalize the score 3-3, thanks to Wu Choi Yiu and So Hoi Lam. Fortunately, the Vietnamese women's futsal team did not drop the victory in the opening match. The efforts in the last 10 minutes of the match helped the Vietnamese girls score 2 goals thanks to 2 powerful shots by Tran Nguyet Vi and Le Thi Thanh Ngan. In the end, the team of coach Nguyen Dinh Hoang won with a score of 5-3 against the Hong Kong women's futsal team.

Thanh Ngan shines with a double on the opening day of the Vietnam women's futsal team

PHOTO: VFF

The Vietnamese women's futsal team had a smooth start to the 2025 Asian Women's Futsal Championship. Knowing that any first match is difficult. However, the match with Hong Kong somewhat revealed the limitations of the Vietnamese girls. First, the attacking coordination of coach Nguyen Dinh Hoang and his team was still not sharp. The goals scored by the Vietnamese futsal team against the Hong Kong team mostly came from mistakes by the opposing players and from set pieces. 2/3 of Vietnam's goals in the first half came from mistakes by Hong Kong players. Vietnam's two goals in the second half both came from set pieces. Meanwhile, Vietnam's quick passing and finishing moves have not shown high efficiency.

In addition, regulating the pace of the match depending on each moment and situation is also a factor that the Vietnamese women's futsal team must improve. Vietnamese players need to stay calm, avoid being impatient or being swept away by the opponent's playing style. In the match against Hong Kong, the proof is that the Vietnamese team conceded a goal when leading 2-0 in the first half, then lost 2 consecutive goals in the beginning of the second half.

Winning the opening match, the Vietnamese women's futsal team rose to the top of Group B with 3 points and a goal difference of +2. In the match on the same day, the Iranian women's futsal team defeated the Philippines with a score of 1-0. Thus, Iran ranked second in Group B with 3 points and a goal difference of +1, the Philippines ranked third with 0 points and a goal difference of -1, and Hong Kong ranked last with 0 points and a goal difference of -2. In the second match taking place on May 9, the Vietnamese women's futsal team will meet the Philippines at 10:00 a.m. (while Iran will meet Hong Kong at 4:00 p.m.). This is an extremely important match for the Vietnamese women's futsal team because it will decide the chance to win a ticket to the Women's Futsal World Cup.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/doi-tuyen-futsal-nu-viet-nam-dau-philipines-vao-gio-rat-hiem-cuoc-chien-song-con-185250507211529881.htm