'We fought hard to get a ticket to the semi-finals'

Coach Nguyen Hong Pham could not hide his joy and emotion when the Ho Chi Minh City Women's Club excellently won a ticket to the semi-finals of the 2024/25 Asian Women's Club Cup. This is an important milestone in the history of the team as well as Vietnamese women's football at the club level.

At the press conference after the thrilling 5-4 victory over Abu Dhabi (UAE) at Thong Nhat Stadium on the evening of March 22, Mr. Nguyen Hong Pham (registered as head coach to replace coach Doan Thi Kim Chi) shared: "The quarter-final match had very high professional quality and this victory is truly memorable. I would like to thank the girls of the Ho Chi Minh City Women's Club, who devoted themselves to getting this historic ticket. We would like to dedicate this victory to the fans of the city."

Coach Nguyen Hong Pham further analyzed the match: "After leading by three goals, Abu Dhabi proactively retreated to defend, creating conditions for the Ho Chi Minh City women's club to control the ball. When we shortened the score in the middle of the second half, the team's spirit improved significantly. Our foreign players are of good quality, and the coaching staff took advantage of the halftime break to adjust the mentality, provide information and motivate the players."

Mr. Nguyen Hong Pham gave special praise to Chelsea Le, a Vietnamese-American player born in 2001, who had an impressive debut when playing the full 90 minutes and making an important contribution to the victory.

"Chelsea Le has shown excellent performance both in terms of expertise and fighting spirit. She has made great contributions to the team's overall play and we look forward to continuing to work together, first of all in the semi-finals. At the same time, Chelsea Le can absolutely be a quality addition to the Vietnam women's team," affirmed Mr. Nguyen Hong Pham.

Striker K'Thua, born in 2003, was the author of the goal that reduced the score to 1-3 in the 63rd minute, creating the premise for the spectacular comeback of the HCMC women's club. He shared: "My feelings right now are hard to describe. The whole team burst into joy and happiness. This is a memorable moment for us . "

With this excellent victory, Ho Chi Minh City Women's Club received an incentive bonus of 500 million VND from VFF and 200 million VND from Ho Chi Minh City Football Federation.

In the semi-finals of the 2024/25 Asian Women's Champions League, Ho Chi Minh City Women's Club will face the winner of the match between Urawa Red Diamonds (Japan) and Wuhan Jiangda (China). In the meantime, Huynh Nhu and her teammates will return to compete in the National Cup on March 25.

Tuan Ngoc