Losing to Japan, Vietnam women's futsal team bids farewell to World Cup dream

Despite their best efforts, the Vietnamese women's futsal team (red shirts) still conceded a goal to Japan. Photo: AFC

On the morning of May 13, the Vietnamese women's futsal team entered the quarter-finals of the 2025 Asian Women's Futsal Championship against strong opponents Japan, determined to win a ticket to the semi-finals and keep their hopes of attending the World Cup alive. However, facing a team of superior class and experience, coach Nguyen Dinh Hoang's students could not create a surprise, accepting a 0-2 defeat and officially stopping at the continental playground, at the same time losing the chance to win a ticket to the World Cup. The match did not start well for the Vietnamese team when in the 4th minute, Takahashi skillfully handled the ball on the left wing and then fired a shot into a narrow angle, forcing Phuong Anh to retreat to block. In an effort to save the ball, the Vietnamese defender unfortunately scored an own goal, helping Japan take the early lead.

In the 5th minute, the Vietnamese team narrowly escaped defeat when Thanh Ngan made a bad pass, allowing the opponent to shoot. However, the goal was disallowed because the ball hit a Japanese player's hand. In the 10th minute, Japan caused trouble again with a quick one-two combination, forcing goalkeeper Thuy Linh to dive and make a difficult save. Not long after, Eguchi dribbled past two Vietnamese players and fired a powerful shot, but once again Thuy Linh brilliantly denied the second goal. The Vietnamese women's team also had notable counter-attack opportunities. In the 14th minute, Nguyet Vy made a powerful long-range shot, forcing the Japanese goalkeeper to show off his skills. In the 18th minute, after a good press, Van Anh had a chance to shoot, but her toe-poke was too weak and was caught by the goalkeeper.

Vietnam women's futsal team (red shirts) bid farewell to World Cup dream. Photo: AFC

Entering the second half, despite their best efforts, Vietnam still could not prevent Japan from scoring their second goal in the 24th minute. Egawa easily tapped the ball into the net from close range, after an accurate cross from the left wing, putting an end to the red team's hopes of a comeback.

In the final minutes of the match, the Vietnamese team switched to power-play. However, Thanh Ngan had a long-range shot blocked and the ball bounced off the post, almost leading to a counter-attack leading to the third goal. In the 34th minute, in a chaotic situation right next to the opponent's goal, the Vietnamese players failed to take advantage of the opportunity to finish. In the 37th minute, Thanh Ngan tried her luck from a narrow angle but the Japanese goalkeeper was still alert to block.

Despite losing 0-2, the Vietnamese girls fought hard against a strong opponent from the continent. However, the World Cup dream is still unfinished, as Vietnam had to enter the top 3 of the tournament to win a ticket but stopped in the quarterfinals. This will be a valuable lesson for Vietnamese women's futsal to continue to improve and aim for major tournaments in the future.

Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/thua-nhat-ban-doi-tuyen-nu-futsal-viet-nam-chia-tay-giac-mo-world-cup-702078.html