HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam hope to beat Thailand to take gold at the women’s football event of the upcoming 29th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, according to Dương Vũ Lâm, head of the women’s football operational staff.

“At the 27th Games in Myanmar four years ago, we lost to Thailand 2-1 in the final. We come here with the highest goal of winning the women’s football event,” Lâm said in a press conference yesterday in Kuala Lumpur.

Women’s football was not in the programme of the 2015 Games in Singapore.

Lâm said Việt Nam are ready to take on their rivals and the pressure of expectations at the tournament.

The team have trained for more than a month at home and in Japan, gaining valuable experience.

The Vietnamese team arrived in Malaysia on Sunday and had a light training session yesterday morning. All players are in good health and feeling positive.

Speaking of their competitors, particularly Thailand and Myanmar, coach Mai Đức Chung said all national teams are strong and his team respect them all.

The Vietnamese team have played these teams several times and know them well, so they are confident they will perform in each match, he said.

Meanwhile, coach Spencer Prior of Thailand was full of praise for Việt Nam and Myanmar.

Prior said Việt Nam have shown tremendous improvement recently while Myanmar are equally dangerous as seen in the several recent encounters. Prior reminded his players not to underestimate the two sides who were eager to end Thailand’s perfect record in the women’s football event, which was first introduced in the 1985 Bangkok SEA Games.

At the Games this year, the women’s football competition will be contested in a round-robin format with Thailand, Myanmar, Việt Nam, the Philippines and Malaysia in the fray.

Việt Nam open up against the Philippines at Stadium Arena, University Malaya on August 17. Then they face Myanmar on August 20, Thailand on August 22 and Malaysia on August 24.

Thailand, the five-time winners, will begin against Myanmar at UM Arena Stadium while Malaysia will take on the Philippines at UITM Stadium in Shah Alam, today. — VNS