The value of Chuong Thi Kieu
Center back Chuong Thi Kieu marked her return to the Vietnamese women's team in the match against the US women's team on the morning of July 22. The player born in 1995 was sent onto the field by coach Mai Duc Chung in the 61st minute, marking her return to an official tournament after nearly 9 months of treatment and recovery from injury.
Although she had not yet regained her best sense of space and rhythm when she was passed by striker Sophia Smith before number 11 passed back to Lindsay Horan to score, the following minutes of play showed that Chuong Thi Kieu had caught up with the whole team. The center back wearing number 3 had fierce fights, tackled well, and kept a stable position despite not having had the feeling of playing for a long time.
Center back Chuong Thi Kieu
Chuong Thi Kieu has been recovering from her injuries for more than a year.
The appearance of Chuong Thi Kieu at the 2023 World Cup despite recovering from injury just before the match day is an affirmation of the importance of this player. At the age of 28, Chuong Thi Kieu is not only a leader of the defense with the ability to command and cover, but the central defender from Kien Giang is also very comprehensive when it comes to fighting, tackling, aerial combat and intercepting the ball.
Chuong Thi Kieu's one-on-one ability is also impressive. Even though she has just returned, in most head-to-head situations, the center-back wearing the number 3 shirt did not let her opponent defeat her.
In the match against the US, the Vietnamese women's team's defense played well, especially in the positions of Tran Thi Thu (left center back) and Le Thi Diem My (center center back). The players covered and judged the situation well, coordinating and supporting each other, especially in blocking attacks in the middle or overlapping the flanks. However, the minus point of the defense is that the defenders' ability to compete one-on-one is not good.
"I am satisfied with the spirit of the students, but there were some bad individual handling and lessons need to be learned. The goalkeeper and the defense limited the opponent's strength relatively well. Goalkeeper Kim Thanh made continuous saves, the defenders rushed to save the goal. We carried out the requirements of covering and closing down, leaving the opponent with no space to organize an attack. However, the players were still confused and bewildered in some situations in the penalty area, leading to the loss of the goal," coach Mai Duc Chung assessed.
Vietnam women's team defense braces itself against US pressure
The transition from a 4-defender formation to a 5-defender formation was carried out by coach Mai Duc Chung before the 32nd SEA Games. However, in the context that most teams in the women's tournament play the traditional 4-defender formation, the Vietnamese women's team needs time to organize a scientific defense with the new 5-4-1 formula. Not to mention, although the central defenders have covered each other's weaknesses well, they still need a name that is solid enough, brave and experienced to be a support.
Chuong Thi Kieu is the most suitable name for this position.
Reinforce the 'wall'
In the match against the Portuguese women's team, coach Mai Duc Chung will likely adjust the playing style. Compared to the US, Portugal is less experienced, so the opportunity for Huynh Nhu and her teammates to think about scoring will be greater (although still very difficult). The Vietnamese women's team will no longer defend as tightly as before the US, but may be somewhat more open, the full-backs will attack more,...
Vietnam female defenders need to focus before Portugal
However, the pressure on the defense against Portugal will be very different. In the opening match, Portugal lost 0-1 to the Netherlands, but coach Francisco Neto's students caused many difficulties for their opponents thanks to their strong, competitive and fast-paced strikers.
If the US women's team tends to coordinate short passes and diverse attacks thanks to skillful strikers like Sofia Smith and Alex Morgan, the Portuguese women's team will play long balls and high balls, taking advantage of the power of strikers like Jessica Silva (13 goals in 100 matches), Carolina Mendes (23 goals in 113 matches) or Ana Borges (11 goals in 157 matches) to find goals.
The 90 minutes of the match against Portugal on July 27 will be a fierce battle of muscle and strength, where the defense of the Vietnamese women's team must be very steady in the disputes. If Chuong Thi Kieu returns in time, coach Mai Duc Chung can be somewhat assured about the defense to calculate further goals than simply limiting the number of goals conceded.
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