Malaysian coach laments being “unlucky” to be drawn into the group of death with the Vietnamese women’s team

(NLDO) - The results of the SEA Games 33 draw made Malaysian women's team coach Joel Cornelli worried when his team fell into the "death group" with Vietnam.

According to the draw results on October 19, Group A includes host Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia and Singapore, while Group B includes Vietnam, Myanmar, the Philippines and Malaysia. Group B is considered the most fierce in the women's football event of this year's SEA Games.

Coach Joel Cornelli commented that the division is "not really balanced" when all three of Malaysia's opponents are in the leading group in the region.

“Vietnam is ranked 37th in the world , Myanmar 39th and Philippines 56th. Meanwhile, in Group A, apart from Thailand, teams like Cambodia, Indonesia and Singapore are all ranked significantly lower. Obviously, this distribution is not really balanced,” he shared on Harimau Malaya .

However, the Brazilian strategist remains optimistic. He said the team will focus on improving their technique, improving their competitive spirit and confidently aiming for the semi-final ticket. Malaysia is expected to have two friendly matches with the Hong Kong women's team (China) to prepare for the SEA Games.

Under Coach Cornelli, Malaysian women’s football is in a rebuilding phase, focusing on youth training and raising the level of the domestic league. Despite being placed in a “heavyweight” group, the team is still expected to show high fighting spirit, making Group B the focus of the 33rd SEA Games.

At the 33rd SEA Games, all women's football matches will take place at Chonburi Stadium (Thailand) in the traditional round-robin format, with the top two teams in each group advancing to the semi-finals.

At this tournament, the Vietnamese women's team is currently the number 1 force in the region with 8 gold medals, while Thailand has won 5 times.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/hlv-malaysia-than-tho-khi-xui-rui-lot-bang-tu-than-voi-tuyen-nu-viet-nam-196251023175756785.htm