SEA Games    

Vietnamese players and coaches pay tribute to supporters after winning the 32nd SEA Games women's football tournament. — VNA/VNS Photos

HÀ NỘI — Coach Mai Đức Chung and his players were over the moon after their fourth consecutive SEA Games gold medal, which they believe will provide a strong push for them in the upcoming World Cup.

Việt Nam beat Myanmar 2-0 in the women's football final to lift their eighth trophy, a record of the tournament, at the National Olympic Stadium.

Star captain Huỳnh Như and super substitute Trần Thị Thanh Nhã scored for Việt Nam in each half of the final that saw Myanmar fight back hard but fail to find the back of Việt Nam's net.

"On behalf of the whole team, I want to say 'thanks' to our supporters for their love for us. My players have overcome many challenges and difficulties to bring home a gold medal," Chung said.

"I am extremely happy. It seems the 32nd SEA Games is my best memory in my career. I did not think about winning because this is a team of older players and inexperienced young ones. Time to prepare was short. We won thanks to the Vietnamese women's great determination and will," he said.

Coach Mai Đức Chung poses with his gold medal after the final match.

"I have rarely given complementary words to people but I should say my team played really well today. They perfectly completed their task," he said.

Captain Như also expressed her happiness after the game.

"I am happy to see big crowds of supporters cheering for us. And I know that millions of others were cheering from home. I scored a goal today and it is for my family and fans," said Như. "I am glad with the goals we scored here, especially the opener of the final. It brought confidence to us and we maintained at a high peak for final victory."

"There is no easy championship title. Each tournament brings different challenges. Today, we make history which will be our motivation in the next events. The SEA Games trophy will push us at the World Cup and make supporters believe in us," she said.

Midfielder Trần Thị Thùy Trang shared that she was very happy defending the title in her last SEA Games. She thanked supporters for loving and watching Vietnamese women's football.

Almost 8,000 Vietnamese supporters came to encourage the women's team in the final match. Việt Nam beat Myanmar 2-0 to win their eighth SEA Games gold.

The champions will have a few days of rest before they are back for training for their 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup debut in Australia and New Zealand in July and August.

“We will gather next week and will have training courses in Germany and Poland. We will have friendly matches with the teams of the hosts. Then, we come back home and will leave for New Zealand,” said Chung.

The team will play another friendly with the hosts on July 10 at McLean Park in Napier.

Chung said Group E will be tough with the presence of defending champion USA and silver medalist the Netherlands. But he and his players expect positive results after the SEA Games championship title. — VNS