The Vietnamese women's team is only about 1 month away from the 2023 World Cup. The training process has been accelerated with a training trip to Europe, along with 5 friendly matches with strong opponents, notably the German women's team or U.23 Poland. Coach Mai Duc Chung and his team have trained in Europe many times, most recently a trip to Spain to train before the 2022 Asian Cup. However, this training session sets the Vietnamese women's team another task, which is to get acquainted with high-class opponents so as not to be surprised when they first step out into the "big sea" of the World Cup.
Vietnam women's team training in Germany
Coach Mai Duc Chung shared: "In the meeting with the Vietnamese women's team, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh instructed the team not to set big ambitions at the 2023 World Cup, but still has requirements for the players. Our level is not equal to our opponents, this is also the first time participating, so we will keep the players' spirit comfortable but there are still professional requirements. We will try our best to preserve the image of the SEA Games champion. After the upcoming tournament, we will compete in the 19th ASIAD and the second qualifying round of the 2024 Paris Olympics, which is also the team's goal this year. We need to go further."
Close-up of the first training session in Germany of the Vietnamese women's team towards the 2023 World Cup
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh instructed that the Vietnamese women's team needs to improve their physical strength. This is also a problem that the women's team's coaching staff has been concerned about recently. Because despite winning a ticket to the 2023 World Cup, the skill gap between Vietnam and top Asian teams such as Japan, South Korea, and China is still very large, as shown by the heavy defeats. The Philippine women's team, which has just naturalized a number of players in the past 2 years, has also won against coach Mai Duc Chung and his team in the last 2 matches thanks to their superior advantages in terms of physique and physical strength. On the world stage, teams like the US and the Netherlands are much stronger.
Of course, the Vietnamese women's team does not put too much emphasis on achievements in a playground beyond their capabilities, but that does not mean the whole team gives up. Because this is the "gateway" for the Vietnamese women's team to swim against the current, surpassing their own limits.
The players prepare to compete with strong opponents.
Coach Mai Duc Chung has prepared for the process of upgrading the team. Since the beginning of the year, the 3-center-back formation has been used more. This is also the formula used by Mr. Chung to confront the powerful teams at the World Cup. In the training sessions to prepare for the training trip, the Vietnamese women's team practiced more short, smooth one-touch coordination exercises, maintaining defensive formation distance. The intensity and difficulty of the exercises were continuously increased by coach Mai Duc Chung every day. In particular, the physical exercises designed by assistant Cedric Roger took up a large amount of time in the training sessions. Continuous physical training helps players train their endurance (both physically and mentally) against stronger teams. Friendly matches with women's clubs or the German women's team (current EURO 2022 runner-up) are valuable assets for the Vietnamese women's team to learn from their opponents.
Among the young players who have been trusted in recent times, Thanh Nha, Hai Linh, Thu Thuong, Van Su, etc. are prominent. This is the 2019 U.20 Vietnam women's team that was given the opportunity to join the national team to create a core generation. The Vietnam women's team still depends on the experience of experienced players such as Huynh Nhu, Tuyet Dung, Thuy Trang, but the role of young players is increasingly important, because these are factors that still have "room" to improve, as well as the speed and flexibility to collide with strong opponents.
Bring the Vietnamese spirit to the World Cup
Coach Mai Duc Chung also expanded the player pool, with 28 names selected to train in Germany to screen for the 2023 World Cup. Since winning a ticket to the World Cup in early 2022, the women's team's coaching staff has promoted many young players, including new faces such as Vu Thi Hoa, Ngoc Uyen, and Nhat Lan. This is the generation that plays a role in continuing and bringing the team to a higher level if properly oriented.
Although the tournament ahead is so difficult that even the goal of 1 point seems far away, the Vietnamese women's team is still preparing very seriously. The results may not come yet, but just overcoming the limits and becoming more courageous through each match is very valuable for the "diamond girls".
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