Coach Mai Duc Chung: 'Vietnam women's team will play their best against the Netherlands'

On July 31, sharing at a press conference before the match against the Netherlands women's team, which is also the last match of the Vietnamese women's team in the 2023 World Cup journey, coach Mai Duc Chung said: “I am 73 years old. Everyone is the same, they have to end, they can't do it forever. Me too, it's time to end. I just hope that the next person will help the women's team improve their level, develop women's football, and continue to the next World Cup. In tomorrow's match, I encourage the whole team to play their best, not only for me but also for football fans across the country. Whether we win or lose, we still maintain the spirit and momentum ofVietnam women's team”.

"Regarding the match with the Netherlands, we no longer have a chance to advance but we will not give up. The Vietnamese team has had a meeting to learn from experience and is determined to play our best tomorrow," coach Mai Duc Chung affirmed.

The Vietnamese women's team lost two matches in the group stage, losing 0-3 to the US and losing 0-2 to Portugal, and were thus eliminated. That was not surprising, because this was the first time the Vietnamese women's team had participated in a world tournament and the main goal was to learn and gain experience to become more mature and reach further in the future.

Evaluating the opponent Netherlands, coach Mai Duc Chung added: "The Netherlands team is very strong, they are currently the runner-up of the World Cup and are also competing for goal difference to get a ticket to the next round. Therefore, the Vietnam team will certainly face many difficulties and we will have to try our best in the next match."

Two intense matches against the US and Portugal have worn down the Vietnamese team’s stamina. Speaking about the squad before the match, coach Mai Duc Chung said that players with both physical and mental strength will be selected.

"Players who are mentally ready and in good health will be given priority to play first. There are some older players in the team, and if they are not physically fit enough to play in big matches, they will face many difficulties. We will carefully calculate our squad and make some changes tomorrow," said coach Mai Duc Chung.

"We are weaker than the Netherlands so we will have to play defensively. If we play offensively we will face many difficulties. Like in the last match against Portugal, we pushed up our attacking formation so we left ourselves exposed behind."

"I've said it before, it's clear that Southeast Asian football is still far behind the world in terms of level. Southeast Asia is a football backwater, we have to frankly admit that. Compared to Asia, we are one level behind, and in the world, we are even further behind."

"The Vietnamese women's team's participation in the World Cup is already a success. In the last two matches, the whole team has worked very hard and is determined. In the next match, the Netherlands will be very determined because they need many goals to compete with the US and Portugal. The Netherlands certainly wants to attack with all their might to win the biggest victory, while Vietnam wants to learn and gain experience. Anyway, participating in the World Cup is also a source of pride for the Vietnamese women's players."

Tomorrow (August 1) at Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin, New Zealand, the Vietnamese women's team will play the final match of the 2023 World Cup group stage, against the Netherlands.