Vietnam women's team match schedule today: Starting the journey to defend the SEA Games title

Returning to Chonburi, the Vietnamese women's team brought with them beautiful memories and high confidence to aim for the goal of defending the SEA Games gold medal. Coach Mai Duc Chung and his team will start with a match against the Malaysian women's team at 6:30 p.m. today (December 5).

HONBURI GOOD LAND

Chonburi holds beautiful memories of Vietnamese women's football. Six years ago, coach Mai Duc Chung and his team experienced breathtaking moments and then burst into happiness. That was the final match of the 2019 AFF Women's Cup, where the Vietnamese girls excellently defeated host Thailand to reach the top of the region for the third time.

The girls are ready

Photo: KH

Fans still have not forgotten the image of Huynh Nhu taking off her shirt to celebrate emotionally after scoring the "golden goal" in extra time. That moment not only decided the championship but also symbolized the resilient, unyielding spirit of the Vietnamese women's players right at the home field of their great rival. Now, when returning to Chonburi to compete in the 33rd SEA Games, from the coaching staff to the players like Huynh Nhu, Hai Yen, Bich Thuy, all could not hide their excitement, but also great confidence from this historical support.

Huynh Nhu will be responsible for scoring goals for the Vietnamese women's team.

PHOTO: KHA HOA

In addition to the mental factor, the match schedule in Group B also supports coach Mai Duc Chung and his team as the difficulty gradually increases: opening against Malaysia, then the Philippines and finally Myanmar. The opening match against Malaysia on the evening of December 5 is considered the "lightest" challenge, but has an important meaning. In football, the opening match always has many potential risks because the players have not yet caught up and "warmed up". Meeting an opponent that is rated much lower is an opportunity for the Vietnamese women's team to warm up, regain the best feeling of the ball and create psychological momentum before entering more difficult matches.

On the other side of the front line, the Malaysian women's team brought a very young squad, with 15 U.23 players, of which Nurlaila Syam Rahim was only 15 years old. To prepare for this congress, the team of Brazilian coach Joel Cornelli played 4 friendly matches, with the results of 1 win and 3 losses (won Bangladesh 1-0, lost Azerbaijan 0-2 and lost Hong Kong 2 matches 2-3, 0-5).

This is the last time Pham Hai Yen attends the SEA Games.

Facing an inexperienced opponent like Malaysia, the mission of the Vietnamese women's team is very clear: to win, and even win big to accumulate goal difference - an extremely important factor in a difficult group. Coach Mai Duc Chung will likely launch the strongest lineup from the start to play quickly and win quickly. However, his problem is not only stopping at 3 points, but also has to calculate the rotation of the lineup, aiming at two goals. The first is to preserve the physical strength of the pillars for the long journey. The second is to create conditions for young faces to enter the field to practice and hone their skills, thereby preparing more tactical plans for the next stage.

DO NOT BE SUBJECTIVE

Before the opening match, coach Mai Duc Chung advised his players not to be complacent. "The Vietnamese women's team, as the reigning SEA Games champions, must make every effort. The match against Malaysia is the first and also the pivotal match, so we are determined to win. I highly appreciate Myanmar and the Philippines, so we must win the first match to have a chance to advance to the next round. The focus for the match against Malaysia will be at its maximum. The Vietnamese women's team will not be complacent, because the level of the teams is now much higher. As we have seen, U.23 Laos caused difficulties for U.23 Vietnam, so we must be cautious against all opponents," said Mr. Mai Duc Chung.

Head coach Joe Cornelli of the Malaysian women's team said: "Although we have to face very strong opponents in Group B, we are still confident. The Malaysian team has many young players, but has prepared carefully, with many friendly matches to accumulate experience. I am satisfied with the current form of the players. Vietnam is a strong team, but I hope Malaysia will play well, who knows, maybe they can cause a surprise."

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/lich-thi-dau-doi-tuyen-nu-viet-nam-hom-nay-bat-dau-hanh-trinh-bao-ve-ngoi-hau-sea-games-185251204221429459.htm