Thanh Nha is expected at the Women's World Cup 2023
"Thanh Nha is considered the next big factor of Vietnamese football and is an important part of the team that will attend the Women's World Cup for the first time," an article on the AFC homepage describes.
Thanh Nha, 21 years old, is expected to inherit senior Huynh Nhu. In the 32nd SEA Games final, both scored to help Vietnam beat Myanmar to win the fourth gold medal in a row.
Thanh Nha's next big mark was a friendly match against the world's number two team Germany, where she scored to shorten the score in the last minute of compensation. In this situation, Thanh Nha rushed from the middle of the field, despite the clinging of three German players to enter the penalty area and then shot her left foot diagonally into the goal. This is considered a simulation of Vietnam's main weapon in the upcoming New Zealand tournament: defense - counterattack.
Present in New Zealand from July 5, Thanh Nha and her teammates had two more friendly matches, losing to New Zealand 0-2 and Spain 0-9 respectively. The winger said that bodybuilding and a part of physical strength are still Vietnam's weak points compared to the world, but currently the team spirit is at the highest level and ready to fight at any time.
Besides Thanh Nha, five other notable young Asian players include Mary Fowler of Australia, who is only 20 years old but is about to attend the second World Cup. Midfielder Shen Mengyu, 21, is the first Chinese female player to play in England. Japan has 19-year-old Aoba Fujino, who has scored 17 goals in 28 games for NTV Beleza in the WE League national championship. South Korea has Casey Phair, 16 years old, half American, becoming the first multiracial player to play for Korea at a World Cup. And the Philippines has 18-year-old Isabella Flanigan, who is expected to help the team surprise the first time in the Women's World Cup.
This is the first time the Vietnamese women's team has attended the World Cup. The team is in Group E, meeting the defending champion USA on July 22, Portugal on July 27 and the defending runner-up Netherlands on August 1.
