Vietnam U.16 women's team moves closer to Southeast Asian championship: Thanks to victory over Myanmar

The second consecutive victory helped the Vietnamese U.16 women's players reach the semi-finals of the 2025 Southeast Asian U.16 Women's Championship taking place in Surakarta city, Indonesia.

Vietnam U.16 women's team won 2 matches

The match between the Vietnam U.16 women's team and the Myanmar U.16 women's team on the evening of August 25 took place at the main Manahan Stadium. Head coach Okiyama Masahiko continued to use the 4-2-3-1 tactical formation, keeping 7/11 positions unchanged from the starting lineup in the match against the Cambodian U.16 women's team. The four positions adjusted in the starting lineup were defender Hoang Thi Giang (3), center back Le Thi Hong Thai (17) and two midfielders Do Thi Huong (22), Phan Thi Thu Phuong (7).

With a favorable start, the red-shirted players continued to enter the match with confidence and excitement, quickly overwhelming the opposing defense, forcing them to work at full capacity to block shots from Minh Anh (10), Yen Linh (4) and Ngoc Anh (11). The first half ended with a score of 0-0.

Vietnam U.16 women's team is performing well - PHOTO: VFF

At the beginning of the second half, Yen Nhi (15) was brought in to replace Do Thi Huong (22) in the central midfield position. The red team continued to dominate, organizing attacks close to goalkeeper Saung Phyu's goal (1).

The turning point of the match was in the 55th minute when the ball bounced back to the second line, Ngoc Anh (11) fired a shot that hit the hand of defender Pin Myint Yan (6), leading to a penalty for U.16 Vietnam. It was a pity that Ngoc Anh (11) failed to shoot, regrettably missing the first goal. In the 62nd minute, Coach Okiyama continued to strengthen the front line when he sent Ha Yen Nhi (5) and Diep Xuan Trang (18) onto the field to replace the two wingers Truong Yen Linh (4) and Phan Thi Thu Phuong (7).

In the 69th minute, the U.16 women's team of Vietnam continued to have luck with penalty situations. Not missing the opportunity, Le Thi Hong Thai (17) kicked accurately, opening the score 1-0 in the excitement of the red team. After scoring, Le Thi Hong Thai (17) was also withdrawn by coach Okiyama to save energy, replaced by Nguyen Thi Ngoc Anh (6).

In the 85th minute, facing the overwhelming attacking momentum of the U.16 women's players of Vietnam, the defenders of the U.16 women's Myanmar continued to play hard and were forced to commit a foul in the penalty area. For the third time in the match, the U.16 women's Vietnam was awarded a penalty. Ngoc Anh (11) continued to be assigned the task and this player scored the first goal of the tournament, raising the score to 2-0 for the U.16 women's Vietnam.

Defeating Myanmar U16 with a score of 2-0, the Vietnam U16 women's team ended the group stage with 6 points after 2 matches, becoming the first team in Group B to qualify for the semi-finals, taking place on August 27. The opponent of Vietnam U16 women's team is Thailand U16 women's team, the second-placed team with the best record.

Evaluating the performance of his players, Coach Okiyama said: "The result was exactly as we predicted. Before the match, we predicted it would be a difficult match. In the first half, we created many opportunities but were unable to capitalize on them. In the second half, the players regained their spirit and tried their best. As a result, we won 2-0."

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/doi-tuyen-u16-nu-viet-nam-tien-gan-hon-den-chuc-vo-dich-dong-nam-a-nho-thang-tiep-myanmar-185250825222348905.htm