Vietnam women's team waiting for more overseas Vietnamese players to change its appearance

READY FOR ASIAN QUALIFICATIONS

The Vietnamese women's team will have its first important gathering in 2025 in early May, to prepare for the 2026 Asian Cup qualifiers.

The May training session of coach Mai Duc Chung and his team is divided into 3 stages: Training at the Vietnam Youth Football Training Center (Hanoi) in the first stage to review the team and perfect the playing style. In mid-May, the Vietnam women's team will play a friendly match with the Werder Bremen women's team (Germany) at Hang Day Stadium to gain more experience.

In the second phase, the whole team will go to Japan for training, and is expected to play friendly matches with local teams. In Japan, coach Mai Duc Chung will continue to test new elements and shape the playing style to shape the framework for the Asian qualifiers.

Vietnam women's team looking for new colors

Photo: NGOC DUONG

In the context of the Vietnamese women's team being in a transitional phase, coach Mai Duc Chung wants to create competition between the old and new generation. He emphasized: "It is not good to be too young or too old, but it is necessary to harmoniously combine the dynamism and innovation of the young and the experience and refinement of the veterans."

After completing training in Japan, the Vietnamese women's team will return to Viet Tri Stadium (Phu Tho) to enter phase three. Here, coach Mai Duc Chung plans to increase the amount of training, starting to practice tactics for each specific match in the 2026 Asian Cup qualifiers. Huynh Nhu and her teammates are in Group E with UAE, Maldives and Guam. In which both Maldives and Guam are inferior, only UAE is somewhat worrisome. The West Asian representative is starting to invest in women's football, evidenced by the money poured into recruiting foreign players for Abu Dhabi Country Club, the team that just lost to Ho Chi Minh City women's team in the quarterfinals of the AFC Champions League.

The 2026 Asian Cup qualifiers will take place from June 23 to July 5. Vietnam will host the Group E matches at Viet Tri Stadium. Hopefully, with its affinity with men's football, Viet Tri Stadium will continue to be a fulcrum for Vietnam's women's football team to advance to the 2026 Asian Cup.

OPEN DOOR FOR OVERSEAS VIETNAMESE PLAYERS

Sharing with Thanh Nien , both coach Mai Duc Chung of the Vietnamese women's team and Dr. Bui Thi Hien Luong, in charge of football at the Vietnam Sports and Physical Training Department, shared the same opinion: the national team is ready to open its doors to overseas Vietnamese players. When these players have nationality, the coaching staff will call them for a trial, and if they meet the professional requirements, they will be used.

"I highly appreciate Chelsea Le, as she possesses excellent professional qualities," Coach Mai Duc Chung affirmed. In order for Chelsea Le to have Vietnamese nationality, this player's family needs to carry out the procedures to apply for naturalization. The Ho Chi Minh City women's team can support Chelsea Le by sending a proposal to the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF), the National Coaching Council, of which Coach Mai Duc Chung is the vice president, for evaluation and consideration.

If it is agreed that this is a case where naturalization support can be considered to strengthen the national team, VFF will propose to the Vietnam Sports Department and the Ministry of Education and Training.

VH-TT-DL, then the sports industry will propose to the Ministry of Justice to support players with Vietnamese nationality. However, the key to naturalization still lies mainly with the players and their families. Currently, both overseas Vietnamese of the HCMC women, Chelsea Le and Ashley Tram Anh, do not have Vietnamese nationality.

In the May training session, it is expected that the Vietnamese women's team will have a Vietnamese-American player living and playing in North America. This player has never played in Vietnam, but was called up because he has Vietnamese citizenship. The team's coaching staff will test and evaluate his ability to decide whether to give him a chance or not. The Vietnamese women's team is in dire need of a boost to change, and the overseas Vietnamese resource is very important for coach Mai Duc Chung to create a stronger team.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/doi-tuyen-nu-viet-nam-cho-nhieu-cau-thu-viet-kieu-de-thay-doi-dien-mao-185250412215403746.htm