The Vietnamese women's team will begin their journey to the 2023 Women's World Cup on July 22 with a match against the US women's team. It must be said that coach Mai Duc Chung and his team do not have much chance of winning. The task of the Vietnamese women's team is to minimize the number of goals conceded. The fewer goals conceded, the higher the success rate of the match.
In such circumstances, the role of the central defenders is emphasized. Coach Mai Duc Chung applies a 3-5-2 or 5-4-1 tactical formation. This is the way the 73-year-old coach prevents the opponent from approaching the goal guarded by goalkeeper Tran Thi Kim Thanh as quickly as possible. He has central defenders such as Chuong Thi Kieu, Le Thi Diem My, Luong Thi Thu Thuong, Tran Thi Thu, Tran Thi Thuy Nga and Tran Thi Hai Linh.
Chuong Thi Kieu could return at the 2023 Women's World Cup.
The most difficult problem for coach Mai Duc Chung at the moment is the name Chuong Thi Kieu. The player born in 1995 has not played a full match for the Vietnamese women's team in the past year. A month ago, she only played 15 minutes when the Vietnamese women's team faced the German club Mainz Schott.
Chuong Thi Kieu missed all three of the most important friendly matches against Germany, New Zealand and Spain. Coach Mai Duc Chung understands his player's physical condition. Chuong Thi Kieu is not ready for intense matches.
Chung's concerns are not unfounded. A series of injuries have occurred among the teams competing in the 2023 Women's World Cup, forcing them to make last-minute personnel changes. Denise O'Sullivan of the Irish women's team was hospitalized after being tackled by Colombia. The match was abandoned after exactly 20 minutes.
Stina Lennartsson was suddenly included in the World Cup after her Swedish teammate injured her ankle in the win over the Philippines. The reigning Bronze Ball winner, forward Sam Kerr, missed two group stage matches after picking up an injury in Australia's final training session.
Coach Mai Duc Chung has a reason for bringing Chuong Thi Kieu to New Zealand even though she is not sure if she can play. The player of Ho Chi Minh City Club I has a good physique and shows her class when playing football. She is considered a pillar, playing an important role in both defense and developing the ball from the home field.
Chuong Thi Kieu tries hard to recover.
The coaching staff expects the 1995-born star to be able to play at certain times. With Chuong Thi Kieu, his teammates are more confident. But this is the time when coach Mai Duc Chung needs to carefully calculate the possibility of putting this player on the field.
The case of Tran Dinh Trong in the 2020 AFC U23 Championship finals is a lesson in hindsight. The Binh Dinh Club player tore his ligament in June 2019, missed the 30th SEA Games in December 2019 but returned to play in January 2020 at the AFC U23 Championship.
Dinh Trong only started in one match against U23 North Korea and received a red card. The first two matches were against U23 Jordan and U23 UAE. He was still put on the field. After a while, Dinh Trong quietly went under the knife and that injury almost ruined this central defender's career.
Unlike Dinh Trong, Coach Mai Duc Chung is a cautious person. Perhaps Mr. Chung is "hiding his cards" and Chuong Thi Kieu will appear at the most appropriate time, marking the return of a top central defender. However, this is a calculation that requires caution because we cannot take risks with a complicated injury like Chuong Thi Kieu.
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