Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính (3rd row, fifth from left) in a group photo with the women's national football squad in Hà Nội on July 3. VNA photo

 HÀ NỘI - Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính met and presented gifts to the national football squad in Hà Nội on Monday before their departure for the FIFA Women's World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023.

Meeting the team at the Hà Nội-based Việt Nam Youth Football Training Centre, PM Chính said that the Party and the State always paid heed to the comprehensive and inclusive development mission, which covers the fields of culture and sports.

He emphasised that the players’ qualification for the FIFA Women's World Cup this time was a truly remarkable achievement and an important milestone, placing the Vietnamese team among the strong ones in the world. This elevated the position of Việt Nam’s football in general and its women's football in particular.

The Government leader noted that while victory would be essential, the spirit of competition and the world’s recognition and evaluation of the outstanding progress made by the nation’s female football would be even more important.

He hoped that in the upcoming tournament, the "golden girls" of Việt Nam would give their all to bring glory to the country.

The 23-strong squad will depart for New Zealand to compete in the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup finals on July 5. They will have nearly two weeks to adapt to the conditions at the venue for Group E matches in the tournament. In the group stage, they will face the US, Portugal, and the Netherlands. VNA/VNS