Vietnam women's team lost 0-2 to Japan, coach Mai Duc Chung said 'acceptable'

"We lost, but this is an acceptable result," said coach Mai Duc Chung after the match between the Vietnamese women's national team and Japan in the 2024 Olympic qualifiers on the evening of November 1st.

Huynh Nhu and her teammates had just lost to Japan 7-0 at ASIAD 19 not long ago. In this rematch, the Vietnamese women's team played better and showed great determination.

“We couldn’t win, but what the players showed on the field somewhat satisfied me. Before that, we were afraid of the scenario of falling apart and losing to the top Asian opponent, Japan, because the team lost to this opponent 0-7 at ASIAD19. This time, the score was only 0-2. I think that was a success and the determination of the whole team! I personally want to thank the whole team for their dedication and good performance,” said coach Mai Duc Chung.

Despite their best efforts, the Vietnamese women's team was powerless to succeed.

The Vietnamese women's team faced the Japanese women's team in the third round of the 2024 Paris Olympics qualifiers. It wasn't until the 40th minute that the Japanese women's team scored the opening goal, which came from a moment of distraction by the Vietnamese defense.

A few minutes later, Tuyet Dung's corner kick nearly resulted in an equalizer for Coach Mai Duc Chung's team. In the second half, the Vietnamese women's team conceded another goal and ended the match with a 0-2 defeat.

Coach Mai Duc Chung was once worried that the Vietnamese women's national team would collapse.

Coach Mai Duc Chung added: " In terms of skill level, we lost to the Japanese women's team, but in today's match, the players showed a high level of determination. We lost, but this is an acceptable score. After this match, we will say goodbye to the tournament. We wish the remaining teams good matches in the next round ."

Coach Mai Duc Chung's contract with the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) will end in December 2023. However, from now until the end of the year, the Vietnamese women's national team will not have any international tournaments. Therefore, this will be the last tournament that the 72-year-old coach will work in as head coach of the Vietnamese women's national team.

Many players took advantage of the last training session to take souvenir photos with coach Mai Duc Chung. This was also a great motivation for Huynh Nhu and her teammates to have a not-so-bad performance despite having to accept a 0-2 defeat against the Japanese women's team.

Mai Phuong

Source: https://vtc.vn/hlv-mai-duc-chung-cac-cau-thu-to-ro-tinh-than-thi-dau-quyet-tam-cao-ar831244.html