Coach Mai Duc Chung and his team are about to "cross the rapids" again

The Vietnamese women's national team doesn't have many differences in terms of personnel compared to the list that participated in the recent Asian Games. U20 women's star Ngoc Minh Chuyen is making her debut for the national team, promising to bring a new dimension to the attack. But the most noteworthy information concerns Huynh Nhu. The Vietnam Football Federation has sent a letter requesting that Portuguese club Lank FC facilitate Huynh Nhu's early rejoining of the Vietnamese national team. Because the FIFA Days for women's football coincide with the second round of the 2024 Olympic qualifiers, the Portuguese club will likely readily agree to Huynh Nhu's temporary departure from the club. At the 19th Asian Games, the absence of Vietnam's top female striker was one of the main reasons for the heavy defeat of coach Mai Duc Chung's team against Japan with a score of 0-7. In the second round of the 2024 Olympic qualifiers, the Vietnamese women's national team will once again be in the same group as this "powerhouse".

Ngoc Minh Chuyen (right) joins the national team.

The Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) hopes that Lank FC will facilitate Huynh Nhu's return to play in the Olympic qualifiers.

Thầy trò HLV Mai Đức Chung lại sắp 'vượt thác' - Ảnh 1. — The Vietnamese women's team ( *left* ) is about to face a very high-level team, Japan, again.

The selection process for the teams advancing to the third round of the 2024 Olympic qualifiers is as intense as that of the Asian Games. Besides the top three teams from each group, only the best second-placed team from the three groups will advance. This means that if the Vietnamese women's team wants to get closer to their Olympic dream, Huynh Nhu, Hai Yen, and their teammates not only have to strive to finish second in their group but also accumulate a very good goal difference against competitors like India or host nation Uzbekistan.

Coach Mai Duc Chung shared: "The Japanese team is a very high wall, not only for Vietnam, but also for many other women's national teams in Asia. At ASIAD 19, we lost heavily to Japan, and Japan also beat the Philippines 8-1. In other matches, Japan also won very convincingly, such as 7-1, 8-0... I'm not saying this to ask for sympathy, because losing means losing, but our level is still very far behind Japan's. The Vietnamese women's team needs to train and invest more to achieve better results. In the second round of the Olympic qualifiers, Vietnam will try its best."

It's difficult to spring a surprise against Japan, so the Vietnamese women's team's chances of securing points lie in their matches against Uzbekistan and India. Despite having a lower world ranking than Vietnam (50 compared to 32), Uzbekistan is showing remarkable progress under the guidance of Japanese coach Midori Honda. Besides the home advantage, Uzbekistan is also considered stronger than Coach Mai Duc Chung's team in terms of current form. Proof of this is their recent appearance in the semi-finals of the 19th Asian Games. The home team's strength relies on two stars playing in Turkey, Shakhrizoda Zaynitdinova and Kamila Zaripova, along with the sharp goal-scoring ability of strikers Nilufar Kudratova and Diyorakhon Khabibullaeva.

The Indian women's team (ranked 61st in the world) is considered the weakest team in Group C, but the Vietnamese women's team should not underestimate them. Under the guidance of Swedish coach Thomas Dennerby and with a squad of experienced players, the Indian women's team showed in the group stage of ASIAD 19 that they are not an easy opponent, losing narrowly to Taiwan (1-2) and Thailand (0-1).