Japanese coach: 'Vietnamese women's team lacks technical skill, not physical fitness'

Hanoi coach Akira Ijiri rejects the view that the Vietnamese women's national team failed at the 2023 Women's World Cup due to a lack of physical fitness.

After watching the 2023 Women's World Cup, Coach Ijiri – currently leading the Vietnam U17 women's team – believes that despite efforts and achievements, Vietnam's level is still far below that of world football. He even suggested that Vietnam would find it difficult to qualify for the 2027 Women's World Cup. "Four years is very short, and even if we participate, the playing style will remain the same. To change, it would take 10 to 12 years," he told the media before the U17 team's training session.

Coach Akira Ijiri is currently leading the Vietnam U17 women's team. Photo: VFF — Coach Akira Ijiri is currently leading the Vietnam U17 women's team. Photo: *VFF*

The Japanese coach rejected the view that Vietnam was inferior in terms of physical fitness and physique. "People seem to misjudge the issue of physical fitness, leading to poor performance at the World Cup," the 53-year-old coach said.

He cited that Vietnam has the 31st highest average height compared to Japan's 28th, yet they still perform well. He also mentioned that Japan's women's team head coach, Futoshi Ikeda, had thoroughly analyzed the situation and confirmed that the two teams were not significantly different in terms of physical fitness. "The most important thing is technique," Coach Ijiri emphasized. "Vietnam must thoroughly analyze this issue and recognize their technical shortcomings."

In fact, Vietnam and Japan share similarities in their first appearances at the Women's World Cup. This summer in New Zealand, Vietnam lost to the USA 0-3, Portugal 0-2, and the Netherlands 0-7. Japan, who first participated in the Women's World Cup in 1991, lost to Brazil 0-1, Sweden 0-8, and the USA 0-3. But four years later, they beat Brazil 2-1 and only lost to Sweden 0-2. Then, in 2011, Japan became the first Asian team to win the World Cup.

Coach Ijiri believes that Vietnam needs to develop a long-term strategy for its current U17 and U20 women's teams, and improve the training of players from at least eight years old.

Huynh Nhu (number 9) competes for a header with an American player at the 2023 Women's World Cup. Photo: Duc Dong

Coach Ijiri came to Vietnam to work in 2019 with the support of the Japan Football Association, mainly coaching women's teams from U16 to U20. Currently, he is coaching the Vietnam U17 team in preparation for the second round of the 2024 AFC U17 Asian Championship qualifiers. This round consists of eight teams divided into two groups, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the finals. Vietnam is in Group B along with Australia, the Philippines, and Bangladesh, playing from September 20th to 24th at the VFF Youth Football Training Center.

The Vietnamese women's national team is also preparing for the 19th Asian Games in China, which begin on September 19th. Tomorrow, the team will travel to Hai Phong for training before heading to China. Coach Mai Duc Chung's team is in Group D along with Japan, Nepal, and Bangladesh.

Following the 2023 Women's World Cup, Mr. Chung and the coaching staff submitted a summary report to the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF), proposing cooperation between the VFF and clubs in player training. Recently, during a meeting with the national team, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh also emphasized the need to develop a roadmap for women's football. Accordingly, women's football should be developed starting from the school system, alongside efforts to improve the height of Vietnamese women.

Hieu Luong

Source link