Football 

Vietnamese players practise with fitness coach Cedric Roger. They will participate in a friendly tournament in China later this month. Photo of VFF

 HÀ NỘI — The Vietnamese women’s national team is taking a training programme at the Việt Nam Youth Football Training Centre to prepare for the upcoming international friendly tournament in China at the end of this month, according to the Việt Nam Football Federation (VFF).

The training session will last nearly two weeks before the team leaves for China on October 21.

The team is scheduled to play a friendly match with the hosts China on October 23 and another with Uzbekistan on October 29.

The two important friendly matches will serve as a warm-up for the 2025 season, where the Vietnamese squad will participate in three major competitions: the Asian Cup qualifiers, the Southeast Asian Women’s Championship, and the 33rd SEA Games.

Head coach Mai Đức Chung said there were many young players summoned to prepare for important tournaments in 2025. The young players would be provided with opportunities to learn, improve, and play with senior ones on the field, Chung said.

The race for a ticket to the World Cup is very difficult, and the upcoming tournaments are not easy either.

Direct rivals of the Vietnamese women's football team are investing heavily, even in Southeast Asia such as the Philippines and Singapore. In Asia, besides competitors like Japan, South Korea, China, Australia, Việt Nam now have to compete with North Korea, Uzbekistan, and Iran.

Chung said the Vietnamese women's team needed young players to work alongside their seniors to improve their skills. The upcoming matches would help the Vietnamese women's team gain experience. VNA/VNS