Historic victory of Vietnam's futsal golden girls

The Vietnamese women's futsal team is expected to face many difficulties in the Southeast Asian championship, because while coach Nguyen Dinh Hoang and his team have only made remarkable progress in recent times, the regional women's futsal arena has long been Thailand's private affair. The Golden Temple team has won all 5 SEA Games in which women's futsal was held (2007, 2011, 2013, 2017, 2021), was crowned women's futsal champion at the 2017 Asian Indoor Games, and won 3rd place in Asia in 2015 and 2018. The Thai women's futsal team's 6th place in the world (Vietnam ranked 11th) is also a guarantee for the "War Elephants" position in the final match.

Fierce competition

Vietnam women's futsal team (left) defeated Thailand to win the Southeast Asian championship

However, the Vietnamese women's futsal team turned the impossible into possible. After conserving their strength and hiding their cards against Thailand in the final match of the group stage, coach Dinh Hoang's students played a memorable final match against their rivals on the evening of November 21 in the Philippines. Unlike the 0-3 loss to Thailand, or the 2 goals conceded in the match against Myanmar, there were no more defensive mistakes in this rematch. The Vietnamese women's futsal team advocated playing tightly and firmly on both wings, handling the ball safely, and even being ready to play long balls to prevent the opponent from taking the ball at home. The calculation is understandable when Vietnam is the underdog, having to play cautiously to stop Thailand's formidable attack.

Commendable achievements of Vietnam futsal team

But the Vietnamese women's futsal team did not defend passively, but had a counter-attack strategy, choosing the right time to accelerate. After two regular periods without a winner, the decision to accelerate at the end of the first extra period by coach Dinh Hoang and his team made a difference, when Phuong Anh's shot made the opponent confused and scored an own goal. If the opening goal came from a quick, short-touch attack that the Vietnamese women's futsal team had practiced thoroughly, the second goal showed the mettle of the red-shirted team. The Vietnamese women's futsal team conceded when Thailand put their entire squad up to attack, but it only took 1 minute to regain the lead. Phuong Anh and her teammates did not waver under the pressure of the world's 6th-ranked team, but persistently organized the game and reaped the "sweet fruit".

Phuong Anh (right) and Thanh Hang

The Southeast Asian championship further strengthened the progress of the Vietnamese women's futsal team. Previously, coach Dinh Hoang and his students won a friendly tournament in Thailand, defeating China and drawing with host Thailand. The Vietnamese women's futsal team has improved their level thanks to international training trips to compete, as well as being supplemented with quality players from the 11-a-side field such as: Tran Thi Thuy Trang, Bien Thi Hang, Bui Thi Trang... Thanks to that, the physical strength of the Vietnamese women's futsal team has changed from before.

The championship in the first Southeast Asian tournament has shown the potential of Vietnamese women's futsal. For a long time, the 5-a-side pitch for women has not received regular attention, shown by the players mainly taken from Thai Son Nam Club in Ho Chi Minh City and the 11-a-side pitch. However, the achievement in the Philippines is expected to promote Vietnamese women's futsal, especially in the national championship system.

With a 2-1 victory, the Vietnamese women's futsal team was crowned champion of the 2024 Southeast Asian futsal tournament. In addition, the team also received individual awards: Phuong Anh - Player with the most goals in the tournament (5 goals); Thanh Hang - Best player of the tournament. After the match, the Standing Committee of the Executive Committee of the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) congratulated the entire Vietnamese women's futsal team on their efforts and best achievement: Champion of the 2024 Southeast Asian women's futsal tournament, and awarded the team 600 million VND.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/chien-thang-lich-su-cua-cac-co-gai-vang-futsal-viet-nam-185241121151214975.htm