Women’s World Cup Preview: Vietnam

Playing at the FIFA Women’s World Cup for the first time, Vietnam head into the tournament in Australia and New Zealand as one of the most inexperienced sides.

The team booked their ticket to this year’s event after defeating Thailand and Chinese Taipei in the playoffs at the AFC Women’s Asian Cup in February last year, and then built on that success by winning their fourth consecutive gold medal at the Southeast Asian Games in May this year.

Captain Huynh Nhu, at that time, said the achievement gave them a big confidence boost ahead of a major tournament such as the World Cup and also increased the fans’ faith in the team.

However, the 20-odd days leading up to the World Cup have been far from great for Vietnam, who lost all three of their friendlies.

The team first suffered a 2-1 defeat to heavyweights Germany late last month before losing 2-0 this month to World Cup co-hosts New Zealand, who recorded their first win on home soil since 2012.

The biggest disappointment came in their final warm-up game, where Vietnam were thrashed 9-0 by Spain a week before the tournament, with the result underlining the huge disparity in the level of quality of the two teams.

Placed in Group E with defending champions and top-ranked United States, last edition’s finalists the Netherlands and fellow World Cup first-timers Portugal, Vietnam have a mountain to climb but coach Mai Duc Chung believes his players are ready to test themselves against the world’s top teams.

“When encountering very strong teams like them, we are not stressed at all,” he told FIFA in an interview in May. “The reason I say that is because playing against such great and famous players is very rare for us. We are very excited.

“Of course, we will also have good preparation, especially in terms of physicality. If we want to show our qualities on the field, we must have physical strength and agility.”

One of Vietnam’s key priorities in the build-up to the tournament has been working on their physical fitness, according to the coach.

 “Vietnamese people are generally quite small, so we make up for it by working on our strength and fitness. Also, we will boost our nutrition for athletes, so that we can maintain our strength over 90 minutes,” he further explained.

Ranked 32nd in the world, Vietnam are one of only two Southeast Asian teams headed to the World Cup, along with the Philippines. Vietnam’s last victory came in May when they defeated Myanmar in the gold medal match at the Southeast Asian Games. They have won six of the ten matches played this year.

Though Vietnam are short on experience, the team is fuelled by a desire to make their country’s people proud, who will be seeing their players at a World Cup – men’s or women’s – for the first time.

Vietnam will likely depend on counter-attacking football during the tournament to score goals, counting on the pace of their wingers Nguyen Thi Thanh Nha and Nguyen Thi Tuyet Dung. Captain and main striker, Nhu, will be their star player, thanks to her agility and good finishing.

The squad also includes defensive midfielder Thai Thi Thao, who will likely play with Dung in a double pivot, and midfielder Nguyen Thi Bich Thuy, who scored the winner that sealed their World Cup qualification. Pham Hai Yen, a lethal attacker for the national team for over a decade, is also included and will add more firepower to the forward line.

With a blend of youth and experience, Vietnam will be eager to prove they are not just there to make up the numbers.

Irrespective of how they perform at the World Cup, their maiden appearance will boost the image of the women’s game in Vietnam as the country tries to close the gap with the top Asian teams and make a name for itself on the international stage.

THE COACH – MAI DUC CHUNG

Coach Mai Duc Chung has a long history of working with the Vietnam women’s national team, taking charge on four occasions.

He first took over in 1997 and his current stint started in 2016. In between those spells, the 72-year-old worked with Vietnamese clubs and men’s national youth teams.

Chung’s biggest achievement with the Vietnamese women came last year when he guided them to their first World Cup qualification as they overcame an intense playoff series at the Asian Cup.

Under Chung, Vietnam have won the Southeast Asian Games five times, asserting their dominance in the region.

As a former player, Chung was known for his versatility and as a coach, he is usually flexible in his approach, tweaking tactics in response to the opponent’s strengths.

Chung usually prefers a 5-4-1 formation with Nhu as the lone striker, while he has also used 4-4-2 at times.

Vietnam’s tactics are not on the level of the heavyweights, such as their group opponents and four-time world champions U.S., but with nothing to lose, Chung’s side could pull off a surprise at the tournament.

“We don’t set high ambitions, but during this tournament, we can learn a lot,” Chung said.

“It’s a chance for us to compete with very good opponents, and we can learn from their experience, skills and techniques. We also have to be mentally strong. We will respect all the competitors, but we are not scared.”

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Huynh Nhu

As the all-time leading scorer, Nhu is one of Vietnam’s most influential and decorated players.

In August last year, Nhu became the first Vietnamese woman player to join a European club when she signed for Portuguese team Lank Vilaverdense and currently, she is the only player who plies her trade outside of Vietnam.

The 31-year-old, a five-time winner of the Vietnamese Golden Ball, has a huge role to play as their captain and main striker.

She is excellent in and around the box and can shoot well with either foot. Nhu also has a dangerous aerial presence and the team will likely depend on her to be the game-changer during crucial times.

Nguyen Thi Thanh Nha

The 21-year-old forward is an exciting young player and has been touted as a successor to captain Nhu.

Nha is known for her versatility, being able to play either on the wings or in a central role. Pace and quick decision-making are her weapons and the youngster will be one to watch out for in the coming years in Vietnamese football.

Nha has seven goals in 27 appearances for Vietnam and recently scored the lone goal in their 2-1 friendly defeat to world number two Germany.

She could be an incredible asset in coach Chung’s system of direct and vertical football.

Nguyen Thi Tuyet Dung

The 29-year-old is another player who can be relied on to make a difference, playing either as a winger or a wide midfielder. Operating on the left, Dung can make quick runs and find skipper Nha up top as Vietnam create chances.

Dung loves to explode into space behind the opposition’s defence and can be Vietnam’s most influential player in the midfield.

An interesting fact about Dung – she stole the limelight in 2015 when she scored twice directly from a corner, first with her right foot and then her left, against Malaysia in the AFF Women’s Championship.

Vietnam will hope Dung can work her magic Down Under too.

Listen to The Asian Game Podcast as we speak with Vietnamese journalist Truong Anh Ngoc about Vietnam’s chances at the FIFA Women’s World Cup