Midfielder Thuy Trang opens up about Vietnam's women's futsal World Cup dream being shattered

After the Vietnamese women's futsal team lost 0-2 to Japan in the quarter-finals of the 2025 Asian Women's Futsal Championship on May 13, 37-year-old midfielder Tran Thi Thuy Trang was unable to fulfill her dream of participating in the Futsal World Cup, after having participated in the 2023 Grassroots Football World Cup.

However, Thuy Trang still has many other big goals this year, notably the Asian Cup C1 (AFC Women's Champions League) title with the Ho Chi Minh City women's football team, as well as the SEA Games 33 championship title with the Vietnam women's futsal team.

On the afternoon of May 14, when all the other teammates of the Vietnamese women's futsal team left Hohhot city (Inner Mongolia, China) to return home, Thuy Trang quietly stayed in this city, waiting to join the HCMC women's team. She had an interview with Dan Tri reporter.

Dream after dream

The dream of attending the World Cup with the Vietnamese women's futsal team has temporarily ended. What are your plans for the coming days?

- Currently, I will stay in Hohhot city for a few more days, practicing to maintain my form and fitness. On May 18, I will move from Hohhot to Wuhan city (Hubei, China).

Thuy Trang (8) attended the Asian women's futsal championship, with the Vietnamese futsal team (Photo: VFF).

After joining the HCMC women's team, I will prepare with my teammates for the semi-finals of the Asian Cup C1 (HCMC women's club will meet Wuhan Jiangda club on the opponent's field on May 21). In the near future, I will return to soccer after completing the Asian futsal tournament with the Vietnam women's futsal team.

Having just finished your mission with the Vietnamese women's futsal team, and preparing to participate in a grass football tournament, especially at a high-level tournament like the Asian Cup 1, does this cause you any difficulties? Every time you switch from futsal to 11-a-side football and vice versa, do you have any difficulty adapting?

- Every playground, every tournament always poses challenges for me. However, I always accept the challenges and always try to overcome these challenges.

Of course, playing both futsal and grass court at the same time makes my schedule more crowded than others. However, after many years of appearing on both these playgrounds at the same time, I have gradually gotten used to switching from grass to futsal and vice versa.

Technically and tactically, I seem to be used to this transition. I trained in futsal so I am not unfamiliar with the techniques and tactics in futsal.

Tran Thi Thuy Trang on the field (Photo: Khoa Nguyen).

As for soccer, I have been practicing and competing in this event for 15 years now, and soccer is in my blood, so the technical issues of the two above-mentioned playgrounds are not a concern for me.

My problem right now is just physical fitness. In this regard, I try to train more to ensure that I am always in the best physical condition for each competition I participate in.

Another record is ahead

Most likely, you will attend the 33rd SEA Games with the Vietnamese women's futsal team at the end of this year. Do you think about another record that you can reach, which is winning a gold medal in futsal at the SEA Games, after winning a gold medal in soccer?

- I can't say yet whether I will be able to attend the 33rd SEA Games at the end of this year. That is a matter of the future. I have never thought that I would aim for any records. But if I have the opportunity to attend the SEA Games, my teammates and I will try to achieve the highest results.

I have never won a SEA Games futsal gold medal before. Therefore, my determination to win a Southeast Asian Games futsal gold medal is very strong.

Thuy Trang won the 2024 Vietnamese Women's Golden Ball (Photo: Khoa Nguyen).

After winning the Vietnam Golden Ball (GGB) in 2024, she has achieved most of the brightest glory that a Vietnamese female player can achieve. After having achieved all the glory, is her desire for success still the same as before?

- In my career, I have never wanted to stop and have never lost my desire to play football. My desire to contribute has never faded due to any factor.

The current me is no different from the past me. The Vietnamese women's Golden Ball is the dream of every player, including me. I waited a long time before winning the Golden Ball. I consider this noble title as a motivation to continue to strive and try, but the Golden Ball is not the end of my career.

Even after winning the 2024 Vietnam Women's Golden Ball, I always keep in mind that I have to try harder and try to be worthy of this noble title. I want to continue to conquer titles.

Passion never runs out

Talking about Thuy Trang is talking about a very strong player. In return, she often plays with bruises on her body, sometimes even playing with screws in her body due to injury. So is injury a haunting thing in her career, an obstacle for her to be able to compete at the top level for many more years?

- The injury period was the most difficult time for me. The period when I played with screws in my body was the period when I had to convince my family the most to let me pursue my passion for football. In return, I received tears from my mother.

Thuy Trang's desire to play football has never ended (Photo: Khoa Nguyen).

That is why I always keep in mind that I will pursue my passion to the end, to respond to my parents' expectations, to respond to the expectations that my family has for me. Now, I carry that baggage as my motivation, urging myself to continue moving forward after failure.

Even though the injuries have caused me difficulties, they are not my obsession. I want to overcome the injuries, aim for success to make up for the difficult days, to make up for the hard days I have gone through.

At this point, at the age of 37, have you decided on a retirement plan?

- Honestly, I haven't thought about retiring yet. I don't know how much longer I will continue playing top-level football. However, I am sure that as long as I am healthy enough, I will give my all to my passion for playing football.

Whenever the HCMC Women's Football Club, the Vietnam National Team, or the Vietnam Women's Futsal Team need me, I am always ready to contribute and ready to fight for the shirt that I love!

Thanks Thuy Trang for the interview!

Vietnam women's futsal team returns home, ending journey at 2025 Asian futsal finals

On the afternoon of May 14, the Vietnamese women's futsal team traveled from Inner Mongolia (China) to Vietnam, concluding their journey at the 2025 Asian Women's Futsal Championship. In Guangzhou, the team divided into two groups to travel to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, from there returning to the club.

The Vietnamese women's futsal team returned home on the afternoon of May 14 (Photo: VFF).

In this Asian tournament, Coach Nguyen Dinh Hoang’s students had encouraging performances, especially in the group stage. The team played a total of 4 matches with 2 wins against Hong Kong and the Philippines, a draw against Iran and a loss against Japan in the quarterfinals.

Throughout the tournament, the team scored 8 goals and conceded 3, topping Group B. Although they had to stop against strong opponent Japan in the quarter-finals, the team accumulated many valuable lessons from high-quality matches, especially when facing the top teams in the continent.

Playing against developed futsal teams has helped the young Vietnamese players develop their tactical thinking, physical strength and competitive spirit. This will be an important preparation for the team to aim for the next key goal of the year, the 33rd SEA Games taking place at the end of this year.

Immediately after returning home, the coaching staff will evaluate and analyze the performance of each player, and at the same time develop a specific training plan, focusing on improving individual skills, team coordination and physical strength to help the team achieve higher results in the international arena.

Dantri.com.vn

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/tien-ve-thuy-trang-trai-long-khi-futsal-nu-viet-nam-vo-mong-world-cup-20250514235859165.htm