Losing to Australia, Vietnam women's team misses the 2025 AFF Cup final
Despite playing resiliently and scoring a late goal, the Vietnamese women's team still lost to Australia in the semi-finals of the 2025 Southeast Asian Women's Football Championship.
On the evening of August 16, the Vietnam Women's Team entered the second semi-final match of the 2025 Southeast Asian Women's Football Championship against the Australian U23 Women's Team at Lach Tray Stadium. Despite only fielding a young squad, the opponent still possessed superior physique and powerful playing style, causing many difficulties for coach Mai Duc Chung's students from the very first minutes.
In the 6th minute, from a cross from the right wing, Aideen Keane chose the right spot to head the ball into Kim Thanh's net, opening the score for the Australian U23 women's team. The high ball continued to be a dangerous weapon for the away team. In the 17th minute, the gap was doubled after McKenna's powerful long-range shot left goalkeeper Kim Thanh unable to react.
In the rest of the first half, the Vietnamese women's team tried to find opportunities but the midfield was inferior to the strength and technique of the opponent.
The first half ended with a 2-0 advantage for the Australian U23 women's team.
In the second half, the ball mainly rolled in the midfield area, the Vietnamese women's team fiercely fought with the opposing team when launching attacks. In the 69th minute, Bich Thuy fell in the penalty area after colliding with the opposing goalkeeper, but after consulting VAR, the referee did not award the red team a penalty.
The tireless efforts finally paid off in the 88th minute. Bich Thuy skillfully dribbled past the opponent and then fired a shot from a narrow angle, reducing the score to 1-2, lighting up hope for the Vietnamese women's team. However, the remaining time was not enough for coach Mai Duc Chung and his team to create a comeback.
In the end, the Vietnamese women's team lost 1-2 to the Australian U23 women's team, missing the final match of the 2025 Southeast Asian Championship. Huynh Nhu and her teammates will enter the third-place match against Thailand at 4:30 p.m. on August 19./.
