Football

Ngân Thị Vạn Sự tries to steal a ball from Australian Leticia McKenna in the semi-final match of the ASEAN Women’s MSIG Serenity Cup 2025. Australia won 2-1. Photos courtesy of VFF

HẢI PHÒNG Coach Mai Đức Chung regretted Việt Nam's 2-1 loss to Australia in the semi-final of the ASEAN Women’s MSIG Serenity Cup 2025 and said that his side must play better if they want to leave with a bronze medal.

Playing on home ground at the Lạch Tray Stadium, the hosts received strong support from thousands of local fans next to just a few Australians in the stands on Saturday in Hải Phòng.

However, it was the visitors who took control with first half goals from Aideen Keane and Laticia McKenna.

Keane put Australia ahead in the sixth minute while McKenna doubled the advantage 11 minutes later.

Nguyễn Thị Bích Thùy struck two minutes from time to give the hosts hope, but it was not enough to deny Australia the win.

Việt Nam will meet Thailand in the third-place playoff on Tuesday. In the group round, Việt Nam beat their arch-rival 1-0.

“I want to thank Vietnamese supporters for supporting and cheering us today. It is a great and exciting match. It's been a long time since I've been in an atmosphere like this," said Chung.

“We tried our best, especially in the second half. However, we couldn't avoid defeat. We didn't play a good match today. We will do it better against Thailand for the third-place finish.

"We have clearly understood this opponent, so we need to work hard and play harder to win."

Midfielder Thùy, who was voted Player of the Match, was sad and even broke down in tears after the game.

"We are all upset at the moment because of a poor performance. We didn't start well and failed to resist the Australian strong point of high balls, although our coaches talked a lot about it," said Thùy.

"Việt Nam and I personally will have to regain our spirit for the last match to win the bronze medal."

Nguyễn Thị Bích Thùy (left) celebrates her goal that narrowed the score to 1-2 in the MSIG Serenity Cup 2025's semi-final match against Australia.

Australia's coach Joseph Palatsides said that his side had to be at their best to beat Việt Nam before advancing to their first final since 2018.

He said it was a great match, adding that in the first half, Australia controlled the game well and created chances while Việt Nam had a good defence that blocked many attacks from his team with the support of a large number of fans.

This was a difficult match for Australia, he said, adding that at half-time, he told his players that Việt Nam would play better in the second half and they needed to play positively.

Palatsides said he brought young players to the championship and had little time to prepare for the first group round match against Myanmar, which led to their 2-1 loss.

However, they played better match by match and against a strong Việt Nam side, they were better and gained a good result.

Australia will face Myanmar again in the final on Tuesday.

"We always give opportunities for the players in each match so that we would have the most ready squad. We will research our opponent and prepare well for this match." VNS