Vietnam women's futsal team and the Japanese pass

The Vietnamese women's futsal team entered the quarter-finals of the 2025 Asian Women's Futsal Championship as the top team in Group B. We won 5-3 against the Hong Kong women's futsal team (China), won 3-0 against the Philippines and drew 0-0 with Iran.

Vietnam women's futsal team ready for match with Japan. Photo: VFF

Regarding the draw with the Iranian women's futsal team, it was a result that both teams had their own calculations. In fact, both teams wanted to avoid strong opponents in the quarterfinals. Coach Nguyen Dinh Hoang admitted: "In this match, both teams had tactical calculations aiming to go deeper into the tournament. Therefore, the intensity of the match was not high. We proactively controlled the gameplay and maintained good physical condition for the players. We clearly defined the goal of the match as operating the gameplay, maintaining alertness and the best physical foundation for the players. The important thing is to prepare carefully for the upcoming quarterfinals."

Immediately after getting a ticket to the quarterfinals, the coaching staff of the Vietnamese women's futsal team made a thorough preparation plan. Coach Nguyen Dinh Hoang confirmed: "We have closely monitored and evaluated our opponents. The coaching staff will have appropriate tactical plans so that the team can best prepare for the upcoming match."

When identifying the opponent in the quarter-finals as the Japanese women's futsal team, coach Nguyen Dinh Hoang shared: "After the last match of the group stage, our team knew that the opponent was the Japanese team - a high-quality team. We had trained in Japan and played friendly matches with this team. They have a fast playing style, good technique and caused many difficulties for us."

The coaching staff quickly met to discuss suitable tactical plans. According to coach Nguyen Dinh Hoang, the Vietnamese team has an advantage in terms of physical strength as Japan has just gone through a tense match with Thailand. “Mentally, they may also be affected after the 1-3 loss to the Thai team. We will take advantage of that,” he said.

The Japanese opponent is truly a big challenge for coach Nguyen Dinh Hoang and his team. In the friendly match before the Asian tournament, the team lost to the Japanese women's team 1-4 on April 25. The Japanese women's futsal team has set a goal of winning the Asian tournament this year. This team has also won the runner-up position twice in 2015 and 2018 when they lost to the Iranian women's team in the final.

According to the Japan Football Association (JFA) website, the team's members are aged between 22 and 36, including players who switched from 11-a-side football to futsal and players who have played futsal since its early years. They have four players who lost in the 2018 Asian Cup final: Eguchi Mika (Baldral Urayasu Las Bonitas), Yonai Saki, Egawa Ryo and Amishiro Anna (SWH Ladies Nishinomiya).

Thirteen of the 14 Japanese women's national team players are playing domestically, except for goalkeeper Yuria Sudo (who is playing in Spain). According to the JFA, most of the players playing domestically do not have professional contracts.

For the Vietnamese women's futsal team, our goal is to aim for a ticket to the World Cup. Therefore, coach Nguyen Dinh Hoang and his team need to overcome the challenge of Japan. That will be a big challenge.

Regarding the squad, currently, the athletes of the Vietnamese women's futsal team are all in stable condition, have no injuries and are ready for the quarter-final match.

With this bracket, the winner of the Vietnam - Japan match will meet the women's team of Taiwan (China) or Iran in the semi-finals and have the opportunity to win a ticket to the World Cup in the Philippines.

Vietnam U16 team enters training

On the afternoon of May 12, the Vietnam U16 team started training at the Vietnam Youth Football Training Center, preparing for the CFA Team China 2025 international U16 tournament and aiming for the 2026 Asian U17 qualifiers.

Speaking to the media before the training session, head coach Cristiano Roland said: “This is a new team, although there are some players born in 2009 who have been called up before. I will continue to apply my familiar working method, which is dedication, hard work and instilling confidence in the players. In the context of limited time, we need to have quick but effective assessments.”

Although they have just joined the team, the U16 Vietnam players have left many positive signals for the coaching staff. “Right from the first training session, the players showed a serious training spirit and great motivation. The physique of this generation of players is somewhat superior, but what I care about more is their competitive spirit, ability to integrate and adapt. The most important thing is to instill confidence so that the players can maximize their abilities. I hope the players will continue to learn, develop and contribute to the team,” coach Cristiano Roland emphasized.

According to the plan, the Vietnam U16 team will maintain daily training at the Vietnam Youth Football Training Center. On May 23, the whole team will leave for Hohhot City (Inner Mongolia, China) to participate in the CFA Team China 2025 International U16 Tournament, taking place from May 28 to June 1, 2025.

With the participation of high-quality U16 teams including Australia, Saudi Arabia and host China, the tournament is considered an important practice for U16 Vietnam in the preparation for the 2026 U17 Asian qualifiers, and is also a valuable opportunity for young players to gain experience and develop faster professionally, aiming for big goals in the future. ( HH )

Source: https://cand.com.vn/the-thao/tuyen-futsal-nu-viet-nam-va-cua-ai-nhat-ban-i768151/