However, participating in the World Cup is still a once-in-a-lifetime experience for the Vietnamese women's football players; the country's football fans are proud when the Vietnamese National Anthem is played at the biggest women's football festival on the planet. Before leaving for New Zealand, the coaching staff and experts all shared the same opinion that scoring just one goal at the tournament would be history for Vietnamese women's football.

Because against the world's top opponents, there is almost no chance for coach Mai Duc Chung and his team to dream of a miracle.

Midfielder Bich Thuy missed a chance to score when facing the goalkeeper of the Dutch women's team. Photo: FIFA

Although they did not achieve their goal of scoring, the Vietnamese female players learned a lot of experience. It was a lesson in maintaining a mental state, because in football, excitement is not always good. It was a lesson in organization, the ability to maintain rhythm and formation distance when facing tall, fast opponents. It was the ability to regain spirit and determination after heavy losses... The World Cup is still a playground beyond their reach, so coming to this tournament is no different from a useful "study abroad" trip for the Vietnamese female players.

Despite losing 0-7 to the Netherlands, the efforts of the Vietnamese women's team are worthy of respect. Knowing that we were inferior to our opponents in many aspects, we still boldly attacked, and almost scored a goal if Bich Thuy had taken advantage of the opportunity to face the Dutch goalkeeper.

After the match, the public wondered why the Vietnamese women's team did not defend in large numbers to limit the number of goals conceded. Another opinion explained that since they had already been eliminated, the players wanted to play a fair match and wanted to nurture the desire to score goals on the world stage. Football expert Vu Manh Hai, a former player of The Cong, commented: "Conceding 12 goals after 3 matches against top opponents is not a bad result. We cannot demand that the women's team win like the Philippines or Thailand before, because we were in a very difficult group."

The 2023 Women's World Cup has opened up many opportunities for international cooperation, youth football training and is a boost for the development of Vietnamese women's football. Witnessing a recent training session of the Hanoi Women's Club's youth team, we recognized the determination and efforts of the talents with the desire to one day participate in the World Cup. The coaches of the Hanoi Women's Club confided: "Thanks to the 2023 Women's World Cup effect, this summer, we have had favorable recruitment of talented students and recruited many quality talents."

The 2023 Women's World Cup is the first step in the journey to surpass the threshold of Vietnamese women's football. There is still a lot to do, to learn from many experiences, to rub shoulders and accumulate experience, for the Vietnamese female players to hope to mature. Mr. Phan Anh Tu, Vice President and General Secretary of the Hanoi Football Federation, said: "After the 2023 Women's World Cup, we need to invest more systematically and professionally in women's football. The Vietnam Football Federation needs to open many domestic and international tournaments so that young Vietnamese female football talents have the opportunity to compete, accumulate experience and competitive spirit."

Chief

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