Vietnam and Thailand women's football from Madam Pang's message

One of the other people who received attention in the stands of the People's Police Academy stadium during the match between Vietnam U17 women and Thailand U17 women was Madam Pang - President of the Football Association of Thailand (FAT). Besides, Mr. Tran Quoc Tuan - President of the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) was also present to watch and encourage the players.

Although it was just a friendly match, the competitive spirit of the young female players brought great excitement. The match ended with a score of 2-1 in favor of the Vietnam U17 women's team. And what is more meaningful is the message that the young players themselves brought, they are the beginning, the future for the women's national team as well as the football of the two countries.

After the match, Madam Pang said: “This is an international friendly match organized by the Football Federations of Vietnam and Thailand. It is interesting that the match between the U17 Vietnamese women's team and the U17 Thai women's team took place on the field of the People's Police Academy of Vietnam. I am very proud to be here.

Vietnam and Thailand women's football from Madam Pang's message -0 — Madam Pang and Mr. Tran Quoc Tuan encouraged the U17 female players of both teams. Photo: VFF

You know, U17 is the beginning of the national team system, including both men's and women's football. And the Thai women's U17 team participating in this match is also a force that the Thai Football Federation has invested a lot of effort in, with the ambition to participate in the 2025 Women's U17 World Cup in Morocco."

“For me personally, I have been fortunate to have many opportunities to come to Vietnam. It could be the time to Nam Dinh or Hanoi, when I accompanied the Thai U22 team in the group stage or the final of the 2021 SEA Games. It could also be in Phu Tho, when the Thai national team competed in the first leg of the 2024 AFF Cup final. And this time, I have the opportunity to return here once again, when the two U17 women's teams of the two countries compete. Although I have been here many times and also passed through many cities in Vietnam, I have the same feeling. That is the love of football and the sympathy of Vietnamese fans,” Madam Pang expressed.

In that atmosphere, Madam Pang also did not forget to mention the achievements that the Vietnamese women's team has just achieved when participating in the 2023 World Cup. "I would also like to congratulate the Vietnamese women's team for participating in the 2023 Women's World Cup finals in New Zealand. That reminds me of the memory when I was the Head of the Thai women's team, accompanying them at the 2 World Cup finals in Canada and France. Because of that, I feel the pride and honor of the fans, from Thailand to Vietnam, every time we have representatives participating in the world tournament."

With Vietnamese and Thai women's football teams both actively preparing for the 33rd SEA Games. This is the Games that Thailand is hosting, so they are determined to win the championship. Meanwhile, the Vietnamese women's football team is also aiming for the tournament as the defending champion. We are also the number 1 candidate for the upcoming championship. Coach Mai Duc Chung and his team have achieved new heights in the recent period. This is the period when Vietnamese women's football needs to assert its strength in the region to gradually reach new heights.

Since the beginning of 2025, VFF has completed the National U19 Women's Championship, thereby discovering many outstanding young faces. Currently, the teams are participating in the National Women's Cup at the Vietnam Youth Football Training Center. In addition, the National U16 Women's Championship system is also maintained to create a unified system. Currently, the National Women's Championship has 8 teams.

Vietnam has also been selected by AFC as one of 8 federations with direct participation in the AFC Women's Champion League 2024-2025. In addition, VFF is one of 5 Asian regional federations selected by UEFA to participate in the UEFA/AFC Project to support the development of women's football for a period of 3 years (from 2024-2027).

Vietnam team rises 5 places on FIFA rankings
FIFA has just announced the latest rankings of national teams. Notably, the Vietnam national team has made significant progress, rising 5 places, from 114th to 109th in the world.
This improvement is mainly thanks to the points accumulated from the victories over Cambodia (FIFA days) and Laos (2027 Asian Cup qualifiers), along with important victories at the end of 2024, especially against Thailand in the ASEAN Cup final. In total, the Vietnamese team was awarded 19.04 points.
Despite their strong progress, Vietnam is not the team with the biggest leap in Southeast Asia. Myanmar is the team with the most impressive breakthrough, rising 7 places to 162nd. Indonesia and the Philippines also made progress, rising 4 places, ranking 123rd and 146th respectively. Meanwhile, Malaysia only moved up 1 place, ranking 132nd in the world.
Thailand is the only team in the group of strong teams in Southeast Asia to be relegated. Due to losing to Vietnam in the ASEAN Cup final, they were deducted points and dropped 2 places to 99th. However, Thailand is still the number one team in the region, 10 places higher than Vietnam.
The next ranking will be updated by FIFA in July 2025. Before that, the teams will have a series of FIFA Days matches in June. The Vietnam national team will have an important away match against Malaysia in the second round of the final qualifying round for the 2027 Asian Cup.
HH