Vietnam women's team wary of Australia, Thailand determined to take revenge

Coach Mai Duc Chung highly appreciated the Australian women's team even though they brought a young team to the tournament.

“The Australian women’s team is young, strong and has a very fast pace. They lost to Myanmar due to bad luck, so it will definitely not be easy to defeat them,” coach Mai Duc Chung commented on his opponent in the 2025 AFF Women’s Cup semi-finals.

The Australian women's team brought a very young squad to the 2025 AFF Women's Cup but overcame a strong opponent, the Philippines, to win a ticket to the semi-finals. Therefore, coach Mai Duc Chung believes that the semi-final match against Australia is not only a professional challenge, but also an opportunity for the Vietnamese women's team to take another step forward on the journey towards the championship.

The home field advantage of Lach Tray and an extra day off compared to the opponent helped coach Mai Duc Chung and his team prepare more thoroughly. He emphasized that the advantage of the field and physical strength does not mean complacency. "Every match is an honor to contribute to the audience and the country. We must concentrate and play to the best of our ability," said coach Mai Duc Chung. At the same time, this coach called on fans to fill the stands and support the team, even though the match coincided with the V.League.

The optimism spread to the players. Captain Huynh Nhu shared that she and her teammates always consider the cheers from the stands as a great source of energy. “Whether I score or not, I will try to bring victory to Vietnam,” she affirmed.

Huynh Nhu affirmed that she will defeat Australia to win a ticket to the final.

On the other side of the front line, the Australian women's team showed respect for the host. Coach Joseph Palatsides highly appreciated the experience and quality of the Vietnamese women's team: "This will be a difficult match, but we have prepared well. The whole team does not focus on any individual from Vietnam, because they are all dangerous." After the defeat in the opening match against Myanmar, the kangaroo team made important adjustments to advance to the semi-finals. Captain Isabal Gomez affirmed that they have learned a lot from their mistakes and are ready to create surprises.

If Vietnam - Australia is the focus, the remaining semi-final match between Thailand and Myanmar also contains a lot of drama. Thailand lost 0-1 to Vietnam in the group stage, and now coach Futoshi Ikeda affirms that the whole team has learned many valuable lessons. "We carried out the plan in that match but it was not enough to get points. The players need to be more confident. This is football, anything can happen," said the Japanese strategist.

On the Myanmar side, coach Uki Tetsuro said that facing strong opponents in the group stage helped his players accumulate courage: "We only have two days to recover but will put all our strength into the semi-finals. I am proud of the fighting spirit of the whole team."

The two semi-finals of the 2025 AFF Women's Cup will take place at Lach Tray Stadium, Hai Phong on August 16. With home field advantage, the Vietnamese women's team is expected to overcome Australia to reach the final. However, in a tournament full of surprises like the AFF Cup, all four teams understand that just a moment of lapse in concentration can cause the dream of winning the championship to vanish.

Source: https://znews.vn/tuyen-nu-viet-nam-de-chung-australia-thai-lan-quyet-phuc-thu-post1577119.html