New Zealand coach Jitka Klimkova considers Vietnam a crucial test before facing the Philippines – another Southeast Asian representative – in the group stage of the 2023 Women's World Cup.
Coach Jitka Klimkova has led the New Zealand women's national team since 2021. Photo: AFP
"Vietnam is different from any opponent we've faced during our World Cup preparations," Klimkova said on the New Zealand Football Federation (NZF) website today.
The Czech coach hopes to see Vietnam's defensive capabilities with a deep-lying formation and tight man-marking. She also affirmed that New Zealand has prepared a strategy and expects the players to demonstrate good understanding and connection with each other. "We want to control the ball as much as possible, coordinate, and create scoring opportunities," Klimkova said.
Meanwhile, midfielder Ria Percival – New Zealand's co-captain alongside Ali Riley – made no secret of his goal to win after a run of 10 consecutive draws and losses. Since the beginning of 2023, New Zealand has lost to the USA, Portugal, Argentina, Nigeria, and only drawn 1-1 with Iceland. Vietnam is the first and last Asian opponent they will face before their World Cup match against Norway on July 20th.
Percival shared: "We are focused on winning. The team needs a good performance to gain more confidence heading into our World Cup opening match in 11 days."
The New Zealand women's national team trained on the afternoon of July 8th. Photo: Football Ferns
The New Zealand Football Association (NZF) highly regards Vietnam, arguing that their team shouldn't focus solely on the fact that their opponent is participating in the World Cup for the first time. "Vietnam just won their fourth consecutive SEA Games gold medal," the NZF stated. "They only lost 1-2 to world number two Germany after a fierce defensive performance highlighted by their man-marking ability."
NZF rated Huynh Nhu and Nguyen Thi Thanh Nha as the two most promising Vietnamese players. However, captain Huynh Nhu is likely to remain absent due to not having fully recovered from injury. The New Zealand players were suggested to keep an eye on Thanh Nha, who is known for her speed and goal-scoring ability.
Vietnam will face New Zealand at 5:30 PM local time (12:30 PM Hanoi time) tomorrow, July 10th, at McLean Park Stadium. The two teams have never met before. For New Zealand, this will be their first time playing in Napier. Therefore, the city council is very interested and expects around 5,000 spectators to attend the match, compared to the stadium's capacity of 19,700 seats.
Hieu Luong
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