Since arriving in New Zealand, the Vietnamese women’s team has had two practice sessions to get used to the weather. It is winter here, so keeping the players warm and in good physical condition is a major concern. According to coach Mai Duc Chung, this difficulty is also a problem that all teams have to face.

“Like the US team or the teams from Africa, they also come from hot weather areas before moving to cold weather here. It is not always possible to have favorable weather conditions, all teams will have to deal with it. The team that overcomes it faster and better will be able to compete more favorably,” he shared.

The Vietnamese women's team practices playing soccer in a small area. Photo: VFF

The Vietnamese women's team will have two friendly matches with host New Zealand (July 10) and the Spanish women's team (July 14) before competing in the 2023 World Cup. These will be two important tests for the positions before the coaching staff makes tactical calculations for the matches in the group stage.

Coach Mai Duc Chung commented: “We are in Napier for 6 days to play against the host team New Zealand. This is a good test. The two friendly matches will be a good opportunity for us to get used to the playing style of the teams, thereby gradually overcoming our difficulties.”

To prepare for the early trip to New Zealand, the Vietnam Football Federation and the coaching staff of the Vietnam women's team have made careful calculations over a long period of time. Coach Mai Duc Chung said: "I have set out plans for the players to get used to the weather, time zone and competition density. Today we will practice 2 sessions in the morning and afternoon, tomorrow the team will practice 1 session. As the competition date approaches, we will gradually reduce the frequency of training, but will still maintain a high intensity so that the players can quickly get into the competition density."

On the morning of July 7, coach Mai Duc Chung spent time with fitness coach Cedric Roger to help athletes practice playing fast, close range, and handling the ball.

HOAI PHUONG