Vietnam women's team faces challenge in Southeast Asian tournament semi-finals

The Vietnamese women's football team has entered the semi-finals of the 2025 Southeast Asian Women's Football Championship as the top team in Group A. Coach Mai Duc Chung and his team won all 3 matches against Indonesia, Cambodia and Thailand. As for Australia, they came to this tournament with a squad of mostly young players (mainly U23 players) with the aim of gaining experience. After losing 1-2 to Myanmar in their opening match, they defeated the Philippines 1-0 and defeated Timor-Leste 9-0.

tuyen nu.jpg -0 — Vietnam women's team confident before the semi-final match. Photo: Mai Huong

Before the semi-final match, coach Mai Duc Chung said: “For us, playing anywhere in Vietnam is a blessing. The support of the fans brings confidence to the team, no matter where we play in our country. The Vietnamese women's team is excited to prepare for the match. The two teams are evenly matched, Australia is very young and has prepared well for the national team level. We hope to play well in the upcoming match. Hopefully the fans will come to the stadium to support the Vietnamese women's team.”

Assessing the advantage of the Vietnamese women's team, Mr. Mai Duc Chung said: "We have the advantage of 1 more day of rest, while the other team has to travel from Phu Tho to here, but that is only an advantage in theory. Australia is young, healthy and adapts quickly. The defeat against Myanmar was unfortunate, but after that they played well. We will face a difficult opponent but the whole team has prepared carefully.

We know the V.League schedule, Hai Phong will play in Nam Dinh , everyone is worried that there will be few spectators coming to the stadium, but for me that is not a problem. Many fans from other provinces will come here to support. That will bring us confidence. Hopefully the audience will come in large numbers to support the whole team."

Meanwhile, Australia women's coach Joseph Palatsides said: "We prepare for this game like any other game. We are very excited about the game and everything around it. We know we are going to be up against one of the best teams in the tournament, led by a good coach."

“The first match was very difficult for us, because the whole team had not gathered before the tournament and had to travel far. Maybe we did not prepare the players well enough. It is not because Myanmar is weak, in fact they are a strong team and played well, but we were not ready.

After that match, the tactical information we gave the players was absorbed and implemented very well. More important than the tactics was their will and desire to win. After the match against the Philippines, the team became more confident and played better with each match,” coach Palatsides affirmed.

The Vietnamese women's football team is facing the opportunity to affirm its position. If it wins the 2025 Southeast Asian Women's Football Championship, the Vietnamese women's team will be crowned champions for the fourth time in this arena, thereby equaling the record of four crowns of the Thai women's team. This is an opportunity for coach Mai Duc Chung and his team to prepare for the 33rd SEA Games. Vietnamese women's football is in the process of generational transition. Coach Mai Duc Chung gives many opportunities to young players, so this is a tournament where we need a title to create a boost. The championship will be a motivation for the Vietnamese women's team to gain more confidence.

Captain Huynh Nhu said: "It's the semi-final so I feel very comfortable and confident, having familiar fans in the stands is a great source of motivation. As for whether I score or not, I will try my best to bring the best results for the Vietnamese women's team." The semi-final match between the Vietnamese women's team and the Australian women's team will take place at 8:00 p.m. on August 16 at Lach Tray Stadium ( Hai Phong ). Before that, at 4:00 p.m., Thailand will face Myanmar in the first semi-final match.

The organizers recommend that audiences avoid buying invalid tickets.
The organizing committee of the 2025 Southeast Asian Women's Football Championship announced plans to sell tickets for the semi-final matches taking place at Lach Tray Stadium (Hai Phong).
Tickets are priced at VND100,000 and VND200,000, and will be available for sale from 9:00 a.m. on August 14, 2025. The organizers note that spectators are not allowed to bring sharp objects, flares, pepper spray or other prohibited substances into the competition area. The organizers reserve the right to refuse spectators who violate the regulations without refunding tickets, and call for civilized cheering - no flares. The organizers of the 2025 Southeast Asian Women's Football Championship recommend that spectators be aware and vigilant of invalid tickets, tickets not issued by the organizers that have begun to appear at matches taking place at Lach Tray Stadium (Hai Phong). To ensure the rights of spectators who buy tickets to watch and cheer for the matches, the organizers ask spectators to note:
1. Tickets for matches at Lach Tray Stadium are only sold online via the official channel: https://datve.cahnfc.com; or via the VNPAY application and banking applications: Agribank Plus, BIDV SmartBanking, VietinBank, VietABank, HDBank, VietBank...
Spectators need to complete payment as instructed and receive electronic tickets to enter the stadium.
2. The Organizing Committee does not sell tickets directly at the counter. Except for invitation tickets issued by the Organizing Committee, all types of paper tickets in traditional format are not valid tickets.
3. The Organizing Committee will refuse any case of using invalid tickets, tickets not issued by the Organizing Committee to enter the stadium, and coordinate with the authorities to handle according to the law. ( HH)

Source: https://cand.com.vn/the-thao/doi-tuyen-nu-viet-nam-truoc-thu-thach-o-ban-ket-giai-dong-nam-a-i778215/