Vietnam women's team needs to persevere with the goal of rejuvenation

The 1-2 defeat to Australia shows that the Vietnamese women's team needs to quickly move towards a transfer of forces, so that the younger generation can bring new life to the squad that has passed the other side of its career slope.

ORIENTATION FOR THE FUTURE

The host team Vietnam lost to Australia in the semi-finals of the AFF Cup 2025 (August 16) with 7/11 starting players aged 30 or older. Only 4 players were under 30 years old, including central defender Diem My (29 years old), left-back Tran Thi Duyen (25 years old), midfielder Van Su and striker Thanh Nha (both 24 years old). The average age of the Vietnamese women's team is higher than that of Australia, Thailand and Myanmar, which are all teams that are rapidly rejuvenating.

More factors like Van Su (21) are needed to renew the Vietnamese women's team.

PHOTO: MINH TU

Coach Mai Duc Chung has experienced players who have played in many big tournaments such as the World Cup, Asian Cup, etc. However, unlike men's football, in women's football, physical strength and fitness play a key role in creating victory. Coach Mai Duc Chung's students can sweep away opponents with similar physical strength (or slightly better) thanks to their superior techniques and tactics. However, when facing fast, strong and tough teams like Australia, even though they only bring the U.23 squad like in this year's tournament, Huynh Nhu and her teammates still have very little chance of winning.

The abundant energy and overwhelming one-on-one competition of the Australian players stifled all tactical options of the Vietnamese women's team. Coach Mai Duc Chung's students only really had a chance in the last 15 minutes of the match, when Australia proactively slowed down the pace of play and retreated. In the previous 75 minutes, the strength from extremely intense, combative pressing helped Australia completely dominate the game. Thai Thi Thao, Bich Thuy, Huynh Nhu, Thu Thao... all tried very hard, but were powerless against a much younger and stronger opponent. Just like the 0-4 loss to the Philippines in the semi-finals of the AFF Cup 2022, experience is not enough for the Vietnamese women's team to overcome the mountain.

The question is: where is the young generation of the Vietnamese women's team, when throughout this year's tournament, no U.23 player has taken a starting position? The Vietnamese women's team has seen the problem of rejuvenation since the 2023 World Cup. In the training sessions, coach Mai Duc Chung often calls up new players. The U.19 generation that finished second in the 2023 Southeast Asian U.19 tournament such as Thanh Thao, Bao Tram, Nhu Quynh, Minh Chuyen, Nhat Lan, Ta Thi Thuy (all 21 years old) were all given opportunities in 1 to 2 training sessions, but only Minh Chuyen was able to stay. That was also the U.19 generation coached by Mr. Akira Ijiri, with the expectation of creating the next generation for the Vietnamese women's team. However, when the bamboo is old, the bamboo shoots have not yet had time to grow.

Coach Mai Duc Chung has actively screened new players. Vietnamese-American midfielder Nam Mi is an example. As soon as she returned to Vietnam to play for the Ho Chi Minh City women's team, the 20-year-old player was "chosen" by the coaching staff for a place on the national team. However, after 2 months, Nam Mi had to leave the team because she did not meet the professional standards. That is also the common denominator of young players who have been on the national team and then... left. There are no exceptions for young people, only those who meet the requirements are allowed to stay.

Like that, the Vietnamese women's team is still the business of the "seniors". Mr. Mai Duc Chung's students are still strong enough for the present, but looking towards the future in the next 1, 2 years with the Asian Cup, ASIAD, World Cup... is very worrying.

C LONG TERM STRATEGY

Vietnamese women's football has received systematic investment over the past decade, with international training trips, training quality and nutrition all improved. However, this is only an investment for the tip of the iceberg. The root of women's football development still lies in the domestic league, where for many years women's football has only been enthusiastically developed by a few localities such as Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Quang Ninh, Thai Nguyen and Ha Nam (now Ninh Binh). The number of women's teams each season is only 6 or 7 (Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City alone have a total of 4 teams), only playing for 3 or 4 months in the national championship and national cup.

The lack of localities, businesses training young football players, and lack of playgrounds for players... puts Vietnamese women's football at risk of falling behind. While Myanmar, Thailand, and the Philippines are all determined to rejuvenate, and Western and Central Asian countries such as the UAE, Jordan, Iran, and Uzbekistan have begun to join the game, the Vietnamese women's team needs a long-term strategy to create a breakthrough in human resources. Today's failure will bring valuable lessons to reflect on and move forward.

The Vietnamese women's team will meet Thailand again in the bronze medal match of the AFF Cup 2025 at 4:30 p.m. on August 19. In the group stage, coach Mai Duc Chung and his team defeated Thailand 1-0 thanks to a goal by Tran Thi Thu Thao. Next, at 7:30 p.m., the final match between Australia and Myanmar will take place. In the group stage, Myanmar defeated Australia 2-1.

Lingnan

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/doi-tuyen-nu-viet-nam-can-kien-tri-muc-tieu-tre-hoa-185250817185943136.htm