Japanese coach: 'Vietnamese women's team is still weak in technique'
After watching the 2023 Women's World Cup, Coach Ijiri - currently leading Vietnam's women's U17 - said that despite efforts and certain achievements, Vietnam's level is still much lower than world football. . He even said that it is difficult for Vietnam to participate in the 2027 Women's World Cup. "Four years are very short and even if we can participate, the style of football is still the same, it takes 10 to 12 years to change," he told the media before the meeting. U17 team practice.
The Japanese coach objected to the view that Vietnam was inferior in strength and fitness. "People seem to misjudge the fitness problem that leads to not playing well at the World Cup," said the 53-year-old military leader.
He cited that Vietnam has an average height of 31st, while Japan is 28th but still plays well, and at the same time, Japanese female head coach Futoshi Ikeda has analyzed in-depth and confirmed that the two teams are not physically different. force. "The most important thing is technique," coach Ijiri emphasized. "Vietnam must analyze this problem very clearly, realize that it is lacking in technology."
In fact, Vietnam and Japan have similarities in their first participation in the Women's World Cup. In New Zealand this summer, Vietnam lost to the US 0-3, Portugal 0-2 and the Netherlands 0-7, respectively. Japan first attended the Women's World Cup in 1991, losing to Brazil 0-1, Sweden 0-8 and the US 0-3 respectively. But four years later, they beat Brazil 2-1, losing only to Sweden 0-2. In 2011, Japan became the first Asian representative to win the World Cup.
Coach Ijiri said that Vietnam needs to calculate a long-term strategy for the current U17 and U20 women's team, and improve the training of players from at least eight years old.
Coach Ijiri has been working in Vietnam since 2019 with the support of the Japan Football Federation, mainly leading teams from U16 to U20 women. Currently, he leads Vietnam U17 to prepare for the second qualifying round of U17 Asia 2024. This round consists of eight teams divided into two groups, selecting the top two teams in each group to enter the final round. Vietnam is in Group B with Australia, the Philippines and Bangladesh, playing from September 20 to September 24 at the VFF Youth Football Training Center.
The Vietnamese women's team is also preparing for ASIAD 19 in China, starting from September 19. Tomorrow, the team will go to Hai Phong for training, before going to China. Coach Mai Duc Chung's teachers and students are in Group D with Japan, Nepal and Bangladesh.
After the 2023 Women's World Cup, Mr. Chung and members of the coaching staff made a final report to the Vietnam Football Federation VFF, in which it was proposed that VFF and clubs cooperate in player training. Recently, in the meeting with the team, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh also emphasized building a roadmap to develop women's football. Accordingly, women's football needs to be built from school, in addition to improving the height of Vietnamese women.
