Coach Mai Duc Chung: 'Vietnamese women do not go to Nepal for a walk'

Due to the lack of direct flights, the Vietnamese women's team had to spend nearly a day on connecting flights from Vietnam to India, waiting for a 12-hour transit before arriving in Nepal on the afternoon of April 3. In Nepal, the team received a warm welcome. Striker captain Huynh Nhu was also present to join the army and practice lightly.

The Vietnamese women will play two matches against the host Nepal on April 5 and 8. And although he has never faced this team, coach Mai Duc Chung and his students have learned about the opponent carefully. "I am very impressed with the Nepalese female players, they have made rapid progress in the region recently. Therefore, we come here not to roam around, but to respect the opponent. Vietnamese players. will try to play the best in the two matches ahead," Chung said at a press conference on the afternoon of April 4.

Due to the withdrawal of the Palestinian and Afghan women's teams, Vietnam's group has only two teams to play twice to choose the next team. Mr. Chung regrets that the team lost the opportunity to test and rub before the 2023 Women's World Cup. "We were looking forward to playing with other opponents to prepare for the Women's World Cup. But playing two matches with Nepal is also very interesting," said the Vietnam women's coach.

Vietnam currently ranks 33rd, while Nepal ranks 100th on FIFA's women's rankings. But according to striker Huynh Nhu, she and her teammates are not subjective about this difference. "We respect them. Nepalese players have good technique and have improved a lot in recent years. So tomorrow's match will be a difficult one. However, we came here to win and will try. do your best".

The first qualifying round of the 2024 Olympic women's football in Asia has 22 teams, divided into seven groups. The top seven teams and five teams from North Korea, Japan, Australia, China and South Korea played in the second qualifying round. These 12 teams are divided into three groups to choose the top three teams and a second best team to advance to the third qualifying round. In the third qualifying round, two pairs of matches will be played in a home-away format and select two winners for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.