Football

HÀ NỘI — The semi-finals of the National Women’s Football Championship will take place today, with defending champions HCM City 1 facing Việt Nam Coal and Minerals in Hà Nam Province.

HCM City 1 are the favorite for the title this season. They have shown their power with 13 wins in a row and suffering no goal losses in the second-leg round, before advancing to the semi-finals as the leading team.

HCM City are home to national team members, such as Golden Ball winner Huỳnh Như, midfielder Chương Thị Kiều and Thùy Trang, along with goalkeeper Đặng Thị Kiều Trinh, who recently retired from the national squad.

Meanwhile, Việt Nam Coal placed fourth in the ranking after the qualification, which saw their one loss and one win against HCM City 1.

Coach Đoàn Minh Hải of Việt Nam Coal said he had to make careful plans for the match, because HCM City 1 were really strong and playing at a higher level than other semi-finalists.

He believed, however, that the chance for the two teams was 50-50, as there were other elements that decided the result of the match.

In a later match, former winners Hà Nội 1 will play hosts Phong Phú Hà Nam.

The two teams have the same number of national team members and both admitted that their strikers had wasted too many chances during this tournament.

Coach Đặng Quốc Tuấn of Hà Nội 1 said Phong Phú Hà Nam had outstanding players who could be substituted during a match. However, the connection between players was not good enough. Their strong point was Hà Nội 1’s weak point and vice versa.

He said it would be a difficult match because they understood each other well. The winner would be the team who could convert their chances into goals.

Coach Nguyễn Thế Cường of the hosts shared the same idea. He added that despite being equal in power, his team had an advantage of the home ground, although sometimes it also created pressure on his players.

In the qualification, two matches ended in draws. — VNS