Will Vietnam women's futsal overthrow the Thai monument at SEA Games 33?

The Vietnamese women's futsal team defeated Thailand for the first time in the 2024 Southeast Asian Championship to win the championship. Will history repeat itself at the upcoming 33rd SEA Games?

Vietnam women's futsal team (red shirt) and Thailand in the final of the 2024 Southeast Asian Championship - Photo: AFF

On the afternoon of October 19, the draw for the women's futsal event at the 33rd SEA Games took place in Thailand. As a result, the Vietnamese women's futsal team was placed in Group B with Myanmar and Indonesia. Group A included defending champions Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines.

This is considered a relatively easy draw result for coach Nguyen Dinh Hoang and his team when Myanmar and Indonesia are both considered weaker. Despite Indonesia being ranked 19th in the world .

Even in the semi-finals, the opponents of the Vietnamese women's futsal team are not to be feared. Because if they win first place in Group B, the Vietnamese girls will only have to face one of two weak opponents: Malaysia or the Philippines.

The remaining concern for Vietnamese fans and the Vietnamese women's futsal team (ranked 11th in the world) is whether they can defeat host Thailand (ranked 4th in the world) in the final of the 33rd SEA Games to dethrone their opponent for the first time.

Because in the 5 times futsal was included in the SEA Games, Thailand won all gold medals for both men and women.

Notably, in all 5 SEA Games finals, the Vietnamese women's futsal team lost. Most recently, at the 31st SEA Games in Vietnam, the Vietnamese women's futsal team lost 1-2 to Thailand in the final.

But the confidence for coach Nguyen Dinh Hoang and his team is not small. At the 2024 Southeast Asian Women's Futsal Championship in the Philippines, the Vietnamese women's futsal team defeated Thailand 2-1 in extra time in the final match for the first time, thereby winning the regional championship for the first time.

Vietnam men's futsal team determined to change medal color

The men's futsal tournament only had 5 teams participating, including defending champions Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar and Vietnam. Therefore, the organizing committee decided to apply a round-robin format to calculate the final ranking points.

This promises to create a tense race, especially when the Vietnamese men's futsal team aims to improve its performance after the bronze medal at the previous SEA Games.

NGUYEN KHOI

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/futsal-nu-viet-nam-se-lat-do-tuong-dai-thai-lan-o-sea-games-33-20251019175403911.htm