'Strange' factor trains with Vietnam women's team: Young overseas Vietnamese star is worth watching!

The afternoon practice session of the Vietnamese women's team on May 6th had the presence of Vietnamese-American midfielder Nguyen Hoang Nam Mi, who had just returned from Canada. However, she is a member of the Ho Chi Minh City women's team and practices thanks to the women's team.

Vietnam women's team gathers to prepare for important campaign

The Vietnamese women's team gathered and had their first training session on the afternoon of May 6, in preparation for the 2026 Asian Cup qualifiers. In this training session, the team had Vietnamese-Canadian midfielder Nguyen Hoang Nam Mi, who is of Vietnamese and Canadian descent, practice.

To help player Nguyen Hoang Nam Mi maintain her training regimen while waiting to join the Ho Chi Minh City Women's Club (because Nam Mi flew from Canada to Hanoi to wait for the Ho Chi Minh City Women's Club), the club has proposed to the VFF to allow her to temporarily train with the national women's team from May 6 to May 8, 2025. At this gathering of the Vietnamese women's team, Ho Chi Minh City Club has no representative because it is focusing on the semi-finals of the 2024 - 2025 Asian Women's Club Championship.

Nguyen Hoang Nam Mi was born in 2003 in Ottawa (Canada), 1.67 m tall. She is a student at the University of Saskatchewan and plays for this school team as a defender and defensive midfielder. In 2024, Nam Mi was honored in the typical lineup of the Western Canada school tournament. Unlike other Vietnamese-American players such as Ashley Ton That Tram Anh or Chelsea Le, Nam Mi already has Vietnamese nationality. She completed the naturalization procedure while still in Canada.

Nam Mi (white and pink shirt) practices with the Vietnam women's team

PHOTO: VUONG ANH

Nguyen Hoang Nam Mi has just joined Ho Chi Minh City Women's Club with a short-term contract to play in the semi-finals of the Asian Cup 1, against China's Wuhan Jiangda Club on May 21 (at Wuhan Sport Centre).

To help player Nam Mi maintain her training regimen while waiting to join the HCMC Women's Club (because Nam Mi flew from Canada to Hanoi to wait for the HCMC Women's Club), the Southern representative proposed that the Vietnam Football Federation allow this player to temporarily train with the national women's team from May 6 to May 8.

Coach Mai Duc Chung agreed and affirmed that this was an opportunity for him to evaluate the potential of the player who could wear the Vietnamese women's team jersey in the near future.

Potential of Vietnamese-American player Nam Mi

"The strengths of overseas Vietnamese players are good physique, modern football thinking and good ball feeling due to regular training in a professional environment. Nam Mi has a lot of potential, having had time to play in the Canadian school football environment, and Canadian women's football is among the top in the world ," coach Mai Duc Chung shared with Thanh Nien Newspaper.

In the afternoon practice session on May 6, Nam Mi quickly integrated with her teammates. The 22-year-old player can speak English and French well and understands a little Vietnamese. Thanks to that, the midfielder born in 2003 is expected to be able to keep up with the movements of the Vietnamese women's team.

Nam Mi caught up quickly

PHOTO: VUONG ANH

Compared to her teammates, Nam Mi has a stronger and more prominent upper body, with extremely "solid" calves. The new recruit of the Ho Chi Minh City women's team also has a diverse set of movements, demonstrated in the tactical exercises proposed by fitness assistant Cedric Roger. In the ball control and passing exercises, Nam Mi also performed well. She has basic techniques, the ability to run quickly, and shield the ball well.

Six years ago, there was a case of overseas Vietnamese players training with the Vietnamese youth team. That was the case of two sisters Chelsea Le (2001) and Kyah Le (2003), when both asked to train with the U.19 Vietnam team (the generation of Nguyen Thi Hoa, Thanh Nha, Hai Linh) and were approved by the VFF. Although they only trained for a few days, Chelsea and Kyah made a strong impression. In the quarter-finals of the Asian Cup 1 and the 2025 National Cup, Chelsea Le played well, becoming the leader helping the Ho Chi Minh City Women's Club create a miracle.

Coach Mai Duc Chung wants overseas Vietnamese players to return to the country to contribute, but apart from the Ho Chi Minh City women's team, no other Vietnamese club has brought in players with foreign blood. Currently, Thai Nguyen T&T Club is negotiating to recruit Chelsea and Kyah Le to play in the national championship, with the goal of conquering the throne.

The Vietnamese women's team will play a friendly match with Ho Chi Minh City women's club on May 12. On May 16, the team will compete with Werder Bremen women's team. In early June, coach Mai Duc Chung and his team will go to Japan for training, then return to Viet Tri (Phu Tho province) to prepare for the 2026 Asian Cup qualifiers, facing UAE, Maldives and Guam Island.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/nhan-to-la-tap-nho-doi-tuyen-nu-viet-nam-sao-tre-viet-kieu-rat-dang-xem-185250506164052916.htm