Deputy captain Nguyen Thi Tuyet Dung says the door is open for Vietnam to qualify for the 2022 Asian Cup but they still need to focus to win every match in the qualification tournament in September (Photo courtesy of VFF) The team is aiming to secure a berth in the finals of the AFC Women’s Asian CupIndia 2022 and further a slot in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Head coach Mai Duc Chung has picked 34 players who he believes performed thebest in the national cup and the U19 and U21 tournaments in 2020 and 2021.
"My players come from six clubs and are both experienced and young. Amongthem are Dang Thi Mai and Le Thi Thuy Trang who have joined the national squadfor the first time," Chung told Viet Nam News.
"Veterans Tran Thi Thuy Trang and Pham Hoang Quynh, who left my team acouple of years ago for different reasons, have come back. Ha Nam's Quynh is askilled midfielder while Trang, despite her age, is still an active and stablemidfielder for Ho Chi Minh City.”
"I have also called up young faces like Tran Thi Duyen and Duong Thi Van whohave just recovered from injuries, to test their abilities," Chung said.
There are 28 teams playing in the qualifiers divided into eight groups.
Vietnam, world No 32, are in Group B with hosts Tajikistan, ranked 135; theMaldives, ranked 144; and Afghanistan, ranked 152. Matches will be held inmid-September.
After a two month break, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, coach Chung has a lot ofwork to do.
"We will watch the players practice first and adjust our exercise programif needed. Then, I will arrange matches for them to practise. I hope that theywill get inspired and make it difficult for me to choose the final list for thetournament," said the 71-year-old who is for the first time being assistedby fitness coach Cedric Serge Christian Roger from Germany.
Vietnam has a higher world ranking compared to their rivals but Chung is stillcautious.
"Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Maldives are foreign to us. We have neverplayed a West Asian team yet. I think that they have also received a lot ofsupport to develop.”
"They stand far below us but don't think it will be easy to beat them. Iam doing my research and have asked my players to try their hardest every time.We must get a good result to qualify for the finals."
Deputy captain Nguyen Thi Tuyet Dung confirmed her team's determination at thecoming Cup.
"We are all affected by the pandemic which has prevented us fromcompeting. However, we kept practising within the club's centre to retain ourphysique and technique," she said.
"In this competition, coaches combine a team of seniors and juniors. Wewill be a united team and pay attention to all of the qualifiers. We have ahigh chance to advance to the finals but we respect all of our rivals and willtry to defeat them one by one," she told Viet Nam News.
The winning team from each group will clinch a place in the AFC Women’s AsianCup India 2022, scheduled to take place from January 20 to February 6.
Defending champions Japan, 2018 runners-up Australia, and third-placed China PR,as well as hosts India, have already qualified.
Following this, the top five teams will go on to represent Asia, along withhosts Australia, at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
"We aim at the top place of the group to qualify for the Asian Cup before securinga ticket to the World Cup," said Vietnam Football Federation VicePresident Tran Quoc Tuan.
Tuan said the VFF will adjust the domestic competition so that the nationalsquad’s footballers will have more time to prepare for upcoming internationalfixtures.
"Apart from domestic training camps, VFF will also arrange intensivecourses abroad and talk with other federations to arrange internationalfriendly matches to warm-up ahead of the qualification.
"These activities are important for players who have not played a singleinternational match for more than one year," he said.
Vietnam who are currently No 6 in Asia were very close to the World Cup in 2015when they lost 1-2 to Thailand in a play-off match./.
VNA
