Will the Vietnamese women's team have the joy of victory again against the Philippines? - Photo: NAM TRAN
The unexpected defeat of the championship candidate Philippines against Myanmar in the opening match made the race for a semi-final ticket in Group B as tense as a bowstring. Because the Philippines had to win the remaining two matches, especially the direct confrontation with the Vietnamese women's team.
Philippines' big challenge
The Vietnamese women's team opened the 33rd SEA Games with a resounding 7-0 victory over Malaysia, the weakest team in the group. However, this victory only brought the necessary morale boost before entering the decisive match with the Philippines. Because the advantage in goals will be meaningless if coach Mai Duc Chung and his team lose to the opponent's naturalized stars.
The defeat to Myanmar forced the Philippines to beat the Vietnamese women's team to keep their hopes of advancing alive. In a desperate situation, coach Mark Torcaso's team became more dangerous than ever. Especially when the Philippines only lost to Myanmar in the 89th minute, in a match where they missed many scoring opportunities. "The defeat in the opening match was not the result we wanted. It forced us to try to come back stronger and win against the Vietnamese women's team," Mallie Ramirez - the midfielder who scored the only goal for the Philippines - shared.
Not only is the Philippines tall and physically superior to the Vietnamese girls, but the confidence of the Philippines is also in the soccer skills of the players playing in the US and Europe. Coach Mark Torcaso's only concern is whether striker Nina Mathelus (1.70m tall) who is playing in the US will be able to recover in time for the match with the Vietnamese women's team after being injured at the end of the match with Myanmar. Although only 17 years old, Nina Mathelus played well alongside her senior Meryll Serrano who is playing in Sweden.
In the two most recent confrontations, the Vietnamese women's team lost to the Philippines. In addition to the 0-4 loss in the semi-finals of the 2022 Southeast Asian Women's Football Championship, coach Mai Duc Chung's team also lost to the Philippines 1-2 in the final match of the group stage of the 32nd SEA Games in Cambodia. At that time, all three teams, Vietnam, Myanmar and the Philippines, had 6 points after 3 matches. And the Vietnamese women's team and Myanmar won tickets to the semi-finals due to a better goal difference than the Philippines.
Coach Mai Duc Chung and the Vietnamese women's team aim to win the 33rd SEA Games gold medal - Photo: NGOC LE
Vietnam women's team focuses on maximum concentration
Despite possessing a squad of quality naturalized players and having superior physical advantages, the defeat against Myanmar exposed many problems of the Philippines. The defense is tall, but moves quite slowly.
The first goal conceded against Myanmar came from the Philippines defenders making mistakes and fumbling in their defense, allowing Win Theingi Tun to take the opportunity to shoot the ball hard in the penalty area. The 89th minute goal conceded came from a mistake in marking, allowing the small player May Htet Lu to sneak past two defenders and head the ball home from a cross from the sideline.
On the offensive front, the Philippine strikers were also ineffective in taking advantage of their opportunities. There were situations where they faced an open goal, but the Filipino strikers still missed the ball.
The above limitations of the Philippines will be a suggestion for coach Mai Duc Chung to analyze and help the Vietnamese women's team exploit to win. Especially when Myanmar also has a small body but has very well restrained the Philippines' wing-heading style of play.
"The Philippines is a very strong opponent. They are also very tall and play long balls and high balls a lot. We have practiced anti-high balls and prepared the best tactics and strategies for the match," midfielder Hai Linh emphasized.
Coach Mai Duc Chung's only problem before this important match is whether the number 1 goalkeeper Kim Thanh will be fully recovered to play, after suffering a hamstring injury in the training session before the match with Malaysia. Kim Thanh's extensive battle experience and good physique will be of great help to the Vietnamese women's team when facing the tall players of the Philippines. Otherwise, it is really worrying.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/gap-philippines-18h30-hom-nay-tran-dau-song-con-cua-tuyen-nu-viet-nam-20251208082612786.htm
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