Vietnam women's team trains in freezing weather in New Zealand

The head coaches of the New Zealand women's team and the visiting team from Southeast Asia gave each other respectful assessments.

Warm up properly to avoid injury

In less than 1 day, the Vietnamese women's team had to fly 3 legs, including 2 international legs, from Hanoi to Singapore and then to New Zealand, and 1 domestic leg in the neighboring country (from Auckland to Napier, where the friendly match with the New Zealand women's team took place).

A player shared: "Before, when we went to train and compete abroad, we often brought snacks to stave off hunger because we were not used to the food in other countries. But now it's different, we have to eat nutritious food, not random food, to ensure our health and prevent doping. Dairy products used to be a fear for many women, but now, almost everyone can eat them."

Đội nữ Việt Nam rèn quân dưới trời buốt giá tại New Zealand
- Ảnh 1. — Vietnam women's team first training session in New Zealand

After resting for a few hours at the Swiss-belboutique Hotel (Napier City), the Vietnamese women's team immediately went to McLean Park to practice to quickly adapt to the climate conditions of the neighboring country. While practicing in hot weather in Hanoi (some days the temperature reached over 40 degrees Celsius), in Napier, the temperature was only below 10 degrees Celsius, so everyone had to dress very carefully, including thermal pants, sweaters, and cold-weather jackets. French language assistant Cedric even had to wear a woolen hat on the field. He asked the players to warm up thoroughly to avoid injuries and other health problems. The practice session only lasted about 60 minutes. Starting from July 7-8, the coaching staff will increase the practice to 2 sessions/day with higher intensity. The day before the match, the team will reduce the volume.

Coach Mai Duc Chung shared: "The players are aware that this is a very important time because the World Cup is approaching, so everyone is trying their best. The friendly match with the New Zealand team ranked 26th in the world on July 10 and then the match against the Spanish women's team on July 14 is very meaningful. The New Zealand team is 6 places higher than us on the FIFA rankings. We have also learned about this opponent through video tape. They have good height, play good high balls and are fast. Because this is a strong opponent, the Vietnamese women's team will play with a defensive counter-attacking strategy and a 5-4-1 formation. People still mistake the Vietnamese women's team for playing a 5-3-2 formation, but that is not correct. In the match against the German women's team, we will also play with this formation. I will not use fixed personnel in friendly matches but change players. Maybe I will use a mix of experienced players and young players in the starting lineup. Then, depending on the progress on the field, change the lineup in the first half or from the second half. The score is not important but if we play well, play as well as the match against the German women's team, it will be a great thing."

Tickets are on sale from the end of April at a very reasonable price.

The match between the New Zealand women's team and the Vietnam women's team will take place at 5:30 p.m. on July 10 (12:30 p.m. Vietnam time) at McLean Park in Napier, northern New Zealand. This venue is the home of the Hurricanes and often hosts rugby matches. With four covered stands, a total capacity of about 22,000 seats and no surrounding athletics tracks, the atmosphere at McLean Park is considered to be very enthusiastic.

New Zealand women's team ranked 26th in the world

On July 6, New Zealand's Stuff website wrote: "When they arrived in New Zealand, the girls of the Vietnamese women's football team made an impression. They looked neat and beautiful in their gray vest uniforms and white collared shirts. The Vietnamese women's team was full of energy."

Vietnam women's team arrived in New Zealand in beautiful suits

According to the Mayor of Napier City, Kirsten Wise, tickets for the friendly match between the home team and the Vietnamese women's team will be on sale from April 28. Tickets for adults are 15 USD (over 350,000 VND) and 5 USD (about 120,000 VND) for children. Since going on sale, this match has become a fever. "It's exciting because Napier City has become the center of football fever when the New Zealand women's team plays a friendly match with Vietnam . This is definitely an exciting match," Mayor Kirsten Wise proudly said.

McLean Park Stadium - where the match between the Vietnamese women's team and host New Zealand took place

Head coach of the New Zealand women's team Jitka Klimkova highly appreciated the friendly match with the Vietnamese women's team: "We have had some bad results recently. This match is the perfect opportunity to review what the whole team has tried. We will play with the highest determination". Before the match against the Vietnamese women's team, "The Ferns" are going through a series of 10 matches without a win, including 8 defeats. Notably, after more than 900 minutes on the field, the team ranked 26th in the world has only scored 2 goals against the opponent. Therefore, the New Zealand women's team is very determined for the match on July 10.

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