Football

The Vietnamese national women football team's coaches and players during a training session in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. Photo of VFF

HÀ NỘI — The Vietnamese national football team has arrived in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, ready to vie for their best results at the 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup's qualifiers.

As the Afghanistan team have officially withdrawn, only three teams remain in group B.

Việt Nam will first play the Maldives on September 23 and face the hosts six days later at the artificial grass Pamir Stadium.

Only the top team from each group will advance to the finals. The Asian Cup is also a qualification for the 2023 World Cup. 

Việt Nam is considered the strongest one among the three due to its higher ranking in the world but coach Mai Đức Chung is still careful when talking about his team's chances.

"Việt Nam respect all teams although there are big gaps between us," said Chung who brings 23 players to the tournament.

"We will do our best in every match and hope for good results to advance to the finals."

Việt Nam is ranked 33 in the world, Tajikistan is at 135 and the Maldives, 44. 

Hours after landing in Dushanbe on Saturday, Chung and his assistants researched the destination's conditions and set up a training programme for the squad.

He said: "We had six test matches to review our preparations at home. After three losses, we won two and drew one with beautiful goals from great combination play. We appreciated the players' spirit, smoothness, tactical mind and technique. They ensure their fitness for whole match with a number of dribbles, passes, runs off the ball, tackling and finishing."

Chung said his players have not competed internationally for a long time but they are ready for the Asian Cup tournament.

He added: "We have been professional in our preparation. We also worked on lifting players' spirits and confidence. Now it is up to them on how they perform in the games."

"We have worked really hard and are determined to win a place at the World Cup," said deputy captain Nguyễn Thị Tuyết Dung who has watched the Tokyo Olympics carefully and learnt a lot for herself.

Confident skipper Cù Thị Huỳnh Như added: "We come to Tajikistan and we will make our World Cup dream come true”. VNS