Coach Mai Duc Chung: 'Indonesia withdraws to make the SEA Games fairer'
The draw results on April 5 put Vietnamese women in Group A with the Philippines, Myanmar, Malaysia and Indonesia. After that, Indonesia withdrew to help the group have the same number of teams as Group B including Cambodia, Thailand, Singapore and Laos.
Coach Mai Duc Chung affirmed that reducing one opponent is beneficial for Vietnam in terms of fitness. "Indonesia's withdrawal also helps to make the settlement fairer," Chung said. "If it is the same, then the group of five teams is at a disadvantage because they have to play more."
Vietnam falls into a group that is considered difficult when it has to face two strong opponents, Myanmar and especially the Philippines. The team changed when it called many foreign-born players to play. As a result, the Philippines won the AFF Cup 2022 and participated in the 2023 World Cup for the first time.
Coach Mai Duc Chung said that these are theoretically strong teams, but football has many variables. For example, in the 2022 Asian Cup, Vietnam was in the same group as South Korea, Japan and Myanmar had many Covid-19 cases but still passed the group stage and won the historic ticket to the Women's World Cup. "I always consider the draw results to be normal," coach Mai Duc Chung shared. "Players everywhere have to play hard to win, there's also luck."
Yesterday, April 5, Mr. Chung's teachers and students defeated host Nepal 5-1 in the first qualifying round of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Vietnam is considered to have placed one foot in the second qualifying round even though there is still a rematch on April 8.
Coach Mai Duc Chung reminds students not to be subjective, and considers this an opportunity to test some young players for the first time. Playing in Nepal with a hot and cold climate is also an opportunity for players to adapt to many types of weather.
After the Olympic qualifying round, Vietnam will go to Japan to train and have more friendly matches with local clubs. Such preparation, according to Mr. Chung, is sufficient towards defending the SEA Games gold medal. The tournament in Cambodia also recorded the women's team with the best force when Huynh Nhu was allowed to attend by Lank FC, and midfielders Chuong Thi Kieu and Tuyet Ngan also recovered from their injuries.
The 32nd SEA Games women's football will be held from April 29 to May 16. The group stage took place at the Military Stadium and Smart RSN in the capital Phnom Penh. Vietnam is the most successful team with seven gold medals.
