The Vietnamese women's team is too superior, but...

On the evening of July 2, coach Mai Duc Chung and his team did not have to spend much effort to win all 3 points against the UAE women's team, thereby getting very close to the door to the 2026 Asian Women's Cup Finals. However, the Vietnamese women's team still has things to improve.

T EASY VICTORY

At Viet Tri Stadium, the Vietnamese women's team took to the field with almost the strongest lineup. Coach Mai Duc Chung assessed that UAE was a more difficult opponent than Maldives, so he did not prioritize using young players. With a star-studded squad spread across all three lines including goalkeeper Kim Thanh, center back Chuong Thi Kieu, midfielder Duong Thi Van, striker Huynh Nhu... the Vietnamese women's team easily created a completely overwhelming game. The ball almost only rolled on the UAE women's team's field.

The Vietnamese women's team has many diverse attacks but also needs to improve the quality of their finishing.

PHOTO: MINH TU

The advantage in the score also came very early for Huynh Nhu and her teammates. In the 11th and 13th minutes, Chuong Thi Kieu and Thai Thi Thao finished quite comfortably in the penalty area, helping the Vietnamese women's team lead 2-0. In the 43rd minute, Nguyen Thi Van raised the score to 3-0 with a close-range header, after an accurate cross from Thu Thao. In the second half, coach Mai Duc Chung made many changes in positions but the Vietnamese women's team still maintained their "upper hand" position. Nguyen Thi Van, Hai Yen, and Van Su scored in turn, helping the Vietnamese women's team win 6-0.

After 2 matches, the Vietnamese women's team has 6 points, scored 13 goals, has not conceded any goals and is in sole possession of the top spot in Group E. Coach Mai Duc Chung and his team are 2 points ahead of second-place Guam. In the final round, a draw is all it takes for the Vietnamese women's team to win a ticket to the 2026 Women's Asian Cup. This is within the reach of the Vietnamese girls.

The women's team must c ADJUST THEIR AIM

The Vietnamese women's team dominated the game, scored many goals, and almost certainly qualified for the qualifying round. But if you ask coach Mai Duc Chung if he is completely satisfied with his players' performance, we will probably get a shake of the head. The conversion of shots into goals by the Vietnamese women's team is still not successful, and many opportunities have been missed. This is a problem that coach Mai Duc Chung pointed out after the big win against Maldives but has not been able to completely overcome. Not only that, due to being absorbed in attacking, the Vietnamese women's team had some moments of lack of concentration in defense and if it were not for the alertness of veteran center-back Chuong Thi Kieu, goalkeeper Kim Thanh would have had to go into the net to pick up the ball.

Huynh Nhu and her teammates need to quickly overcome these problems, because exactly 1 month after the 2026 Women's Asian Cup qualifiers, the Vietnamese women's team will embark on a journey to reclaim the Southeast Asian title at home. 3 years ago, our girls only won 4th place overall, behind the Philippines, Thailand and Myanmar. This time, things are expected to be even more difficult because the opponents in the region have all increased their strength. The Vietnamese women's team is also in a rather difficult group with opponents Thailand, Indonesia and Cambodia. In particular, the Indonesian women's team has added a series of quality naturalized players from Europe. And of course, the Maldives and UAE teams are much weaker than the Southeast Asian opponents of the Vietnamese women's team.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/doi-tuyen-nu-viet-nam-qua-vuot-troi-nhung-185250702230007017.htm