Can the Vietnamese women's team have time to "makeover" for the 2023 World Cup?

The Vietnamese women's team is only about a month away from the 2023 World Cup. The training process was accelerated with a training tour in Europe, and 1 friendly matches with strong opponents, including the German women's team or Poland U.5. Coach Mai Duc Chung's teachers and students have practiced many times in Europe, most recently a trip to Spain to train their troops before the 23 Asian Cup. However, this training session poses a task for the Vietnamese women's team. Another thing is to get acquainted with high-class opponents so as not to be surprised the first time you step out into the "big sea" of the World Cup.

Coach Mai Duc Chung shared: "During the meeting with the Vietnamese women's team, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh told the team not to set big ambitions at the 2023 World Cup, but there are still requirements for players. Our level is not as good as the competition, this is also the first time participating, so we will keep the spirit of the players comfortable but still have professional requirements. We will try our best to preserve the image of the SEA Games champion. After the upcoming tournament, we also have ASIAD 19 and the second qualifying round of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, which is also the goal of the team this year. We need to go further.”

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh advised the Vietnamese women's team to improve their physical strength. This is also a problem that the coaching staff of the women's team has struggled with recently. Because despite winning tickets to the 2023 World Cup, the level gap between Vietnam and the top Asian teams such as Japan, Korea, and China is still very large, reflected in very bold failures. The Philippine women's team has just naturalized a number of players in the past 2 years, and has also won against coach Mai Duc Chung's teachers and students in the last 2 matches because of outstanding advantages in terms of strength and physical strength. On the world stage, teams like the US and the Netherlands are much stronger.

Of course, the Vietnamese women's team does not place too much emphasis on achievements in the playground, but that doesn't mean the whole team gives up. Because this is the "dance" for the Vietnamese women's team to wade upstream and overcome their own limits.

Coach Mai Duc Chung has prepared for the process of upgrading the team. From the beginning of the year, the 3 central defender scheme was used more. This is also the formula used by Mr. Chung to confront powerful teams in the World Cup. During the training sessions to prepare for the training trip, the Vietnamese women's team practiced more short, smooth one-touch coordination exercises, keeping the distance of the defensive formation. The intensity and difficulty of the exercises are continuously pushed up by coach Mai Duc Chung every day. In particular, the exercises designed by his assistant Cedric Roger take up a lot of time in the training sessions. The constant exercise helps players to endure (both physically and mentally) against stronger teams. Friendly matches with the women's club or the German women's team (the runner-up at EURO 2022) are valuable capital for the Vietnamese women's team to learn from their opponents.

Among the young players who have been trusted in the past time, there are Thanh Nha, Hai Linh, Thu Thuong, Van Su, etc. This is the Vietnamese U.20 female force in 2019 that is facilitated to join the national team to join the national team. create the core generation. The Vietnamese women's team still depends on the experience of experienced players such as Huynh Nhu, Tuyet Dung, Thuy Trang, but the role of young players is increasingly important, because these are factors that still have "space". progress, as well as the speed and toughness to collide with strong opponents.

Coach Mai Duc Chung also expanded the player fund, with 28 names selected to train in Germany to be screened for the 2023 World Cup. Since winning tickets to the World Cup in early 2022, the women's team's coaching staff has encouraged many young players, including new faces like Vu Thi Hoa, Ngoc Uyen, Nhat Lan. This is the generation that plays the role of continuation and takes the team to the next level if directed properly.

Although the upcoming tournament is so difficult that even the goal of 1 point seems far away, the Vietnamese women's team is still preparing very seriously. The results may not have come yet, but just overcoming the limit and being more brave through each match, it was very precious to the "diamond girls".