Vietnam women's team faces challenges in Southeast Asian tournament

Today (August 6), the Vietnamese women's team will have their opening match of the 2025 Southeast Asian Women's Football Championship, against Cambodia at Lach Tray Stadium.

The Vietnam women's football team will participate in the 2025 Southeast Asian Women's Football Championship with the goal of winning the championship on home ground. The list of players participating in this tournament is notable for the return of midfielder Nguyen Thi Thanh Nha. After a period of absence due to injury, she promises to strengthen the midfield of the Vietnam women's team.

Coach Mai Duc Chung and his colleagues also continue to trust and give opportunities to many promising young faces such as Nguyen Thi Truc Huong and Tran Thi Thu Xuan (TKSVN), bringing a new breeze to the team in the journey to conquer the regional arena.

Vietnam women's team aims for Southeast Asian championship. Photo: VFF

The Vietnamese women's team is in Group A with Thailand, Cambodia and Indonesia. Looking at this group, we can see that our direct opponent is the Thai women's team. Because the tournament is not on the FIFA Days schedule, the Thai women's team cannot call up key players who are playing abroad. That is a difficulty for the team from the Land of the Golden Temple.

Therefore, looking at the tournament situation, the biggest opponent of the Vietnamese women's team is the Philippines team in Group B. The Philippine women's football team has reached the semi-finals of the 2022 Asian Cup, participated in the final round of the 2026 Asian Cup, participated in the 2023 World Cup and won the 2022 AFF Women's Cup. In the semi-finals of the 2022 AFF Women's Cup, the Philippine women's team beat the Vietnamese women's team 4-0. At the 2023 SEA Games, they continued to beat the Vietnamese women's team with a score of 2-1.

The Vietnamese women's team has won the Southeast Asian championship three times (2006, 2012, 2019), while Thailand holds the record with four titles. The coach and his team are determined to equal their opponent's record.

Before the opening day, coach Mai Duc Chung assessed the opponents in the same group, Indonesia, Thailand and Cambodia: “They have made very positive changes. Therefore, we must try, focus and make efforts in each match. An advantage for the Vietnamese women's team is that they will play at home. The support of the fans will give us more motivation. I hope the fans will accompany and support the Vietnamese women's team in this tournament.”

Striker Huynh Nhu said: “My goal and the entire Vietnamese women's team's goal is to try to perform and bring victory to the audience in Hai Phong in particular and the whole country in general. The team's ultimate goal is to win the Southeast Asian women's championship.

In 2003, the Vietnamese women's team also won the championship at Lach Tray. I will also consider that as motivation to make history again."

After this tournament, the Vietnamese women's team will enter the preparation phase for the 33rd SEA Games. Therefore, the Southeast Asian Championship will be a measure for coach Mai Duc Chung to carefully review and evaluate the personnel situation as well as the lessons learned.

Coach Mai Duc Chung emphasized: “My goal and the entire Vietnamese women's team's goal is to try to perform and bring victory to the audience in Hai Phong in particular and the whole country in general. The team's ultimate goal is to win the Southeast Asian women's championship.”

In Southeast Asia, Vietnamese women's football is always in the top group. Our goal when participating in tournaments such as the Southeast Asian Championship or SEA Games is to aim for the highest position. We can see the regional playground as a foundation for us to aim for larger arenas such as Asia and the world .

The goals of the teams in group A

On the afternoon of August 5, a press conference was held between the teams in Group A before the opening match of the 2025 Southeast Asian Women's Football Championship.

Thailand women's coach Futoshi Ikeda acknowledged the limitations of the squad: "Because the tournament is not on the FIFA Days schedule, Thailand has difficulty calling up the best players. However, we are still very confident because there are young players in the team. This is an opportunity for them to challenge themselves."

He believes that the 17-19 year olds will not be under too much pressure: “I don’t think there will be any significant pressure. The players are excited and eager to show themselves. Our immediate goal is to get through the group stage, before thinking about the next step.”

Meanwhile, Indonesia and Cambodia also have their own expectations. Indonesia coach Joko Jusilo said: “Our goal is to deliver a good performance at the tournament in Vietnam. We want to win every match.”

Coach Gyotoku Koji (Cambodia) frankly admitted: “This is definitely a difficult tournament for the Cambodian team. The three teams Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia are all strong opponents, so we will try our best to get 3 points in this tournament.”

Tickets to watch the Vietnamese women's team play in the 2025 Southeast Asian tournament are available at two prices: VND50,000 and VND100,000. Fans can buy tickets online via the website https://datve.cahnfc.com, the VNPAY application or banking applications that integrate VNPAY.

Tickets have been on sale since 7:00 a.m. on August 5, 2025. The organizers note that they may adjust the ticket issuance plan depending on the actual situation; buyers need to keep their tickets carefully. When entering the stadium, spectators are not allowed to bring sharp objects, flares, spray cans or prohibited substances. Violators of the rules may be denied entry to the stadium and will not receive a refund. The organizers call on fans to accompany the team in the spirit of "Civilized cheering - No flares".

Source: https://cand.com.vn/the-thao/doi-tuyen-nu-viet-nam-truoc-thu-thach-o-giai-dong-nam-a-i777142/