Vietnam women's team finalizes list for SEA Games 33, determined to win gold medal

The three players eliminated at the last minute were Duong Thi Van, Ngan Thi Thanh Hieu and Vu Thi Hoa. Of these, Duong Thi Van did not recover from her injury in time. Meanwhile, Thanh Hieu and Vu Thi Hoa still lack international competition experience.

However, the core members of the Vietnamese women's football team are still present in the 23-player squad, preparing to go to Thailand to participate in the 33rd SEA Games. These players include goalkeeper Tran Thi Kim Thanh, defenders Hoang Thi Loan and Le Thi Diem My, midfielder Nguyen Thi Bich Thuy, strikers Pham Hai Yen and captain Huynh Nhu.

The younger faces, belonging to the next generation of Vietnamese women's football, include Tran Thi Duyen, Tran Thi Hai Linh, Nguyen Thi Thanh Nha, Ngoc Minh Chuyen and Nguyen Thi Thuy Hang.

According to the plan, the Vietnamese women's football team will leave Ho Chi Minh City for Thailand tomorrow (December 2). At the 33rd SEA Games, coach Mai Duc Chung's team will be in Group B with Malaysia, the Philippines and Myanmar. Of which, the Philippines and Myanmar are considered very strong.

Đội tuyển nữ Việt Nam chốt danh sách dự SEA Games 33, quyết tâm giành HCV - 2 — The Vietnamese women's football team currently has all the best players (Photo: VFF).

The opening match of the Vietnam women's football team will be against Malaysia on December 5. All matches of the women's football event will take place in Chonburi (more than 100km from the capital Bangkok).

The women's group stage will end on December 11, with the semi-finals taking place on December 14. The final and bronze medal match will take place on December 17.

Before leaving for Thailand, coach Mai Duc Chung said: “Football teams in the region invest a lot in women’s football teams. They naturalize foreign players en masse. This causes difficulties for the Vietnamese women’s team, because Vietnamese female players are short and physically weak.”

“But in return, our players have a strong spirit and are agile and skillful. The Vietnam women's football team has been given the opportunity by the VFF to compete and train abroad. We have had useful matches with stronger opponents in Japan. Through that, we have learned a lot from these matches.

The recent training period in Japan, with a number of friendly matches, helped the team improve their skills and confidently aim for the 33rd SEA Games with the highest goal," Coach Mai Duc Chung affirmed.