The Vietnamese women's team won 7-0 against the Maldives women's team on the evening of June 29, in the first match of Group E, the 2026 Women's Asian Cup qualifiers. This result gives coach Mai Duc Chung and his team a chance to top Group E, especially when their direct competitor UAE was held to a draw (0-0) by Guam.
"Huynh Nhu is old"
Speaking after the match, coach Mai Duc Chung said: "We wanted to win overwhelmingly to clearly demonstrate the efforts of the whole team in the past time. However, you missed many regrettable opportunities, even a penalty. In the second half, the Vietnamese women's players were still hesitant. Maybe in the second half, you hesitated because you were satisfied and relaxed. The whole team also tried to dedicate a good match to the fans, even though we missed many opportunities. We regret that we could have won 8-0, 9-0. The team will try to improve in the next matches. I hope that in the next matches, the players will score better goals."
Highlights of Vietnam women's team 7-0 Maldives: Resounding debut | Asian Cup qualifiers
"It's not that Huynh Nhu didn't play well. You've been out for a long time and you're older. Your form, ball sense and physical strength are different from before. That's why I didn't put Nhu in the starting lineup," said Mai Duc Chung about the striker from Tra Vinh . In this match, the striker born in 1991 was unlucky in his finishing moves and missed a good opportunity to score from the 11m mark in the final minute of extra time.
Huynh Nhu (right) did not score in the Vietnamese women's team's big win over Maldives - PHOTO: VFF
Regarding young player Ngoc Minh Chuyen, coach Mai Duc Chung commented: "Minh Chuyen is very fast. This is only Chuyen's first official match. She has made progress. I also have high requirements for Chuyen to integrate into the team." The young player born in 2004 has left a mark in his first official match with the national team. The former top scorer of the U.19 Southeast Asian women's tournament also contributed 1 goal, raising the score to 6-0 for the Vietnamese women's team at the end of the first half.
"Vietnam women's team is the strongest in the group"
On the other hand, the head coach of the Maldives women's team - Mr. Mohamed Athif shared: "We lost 0-6 in the first half, but only lost 1 more goal in the second half. I think the Maldives women's team made a great effort. In a Muslim country like the Maldives, overcoming prejudice to advocate for women to play football is already a difficult thing. We don't have a domestic tournament, we can only practice with the male youth teams."
"The players were very happy when they saved the penalty. Celebrating is not only when we win but also when we achieve something, in this case, preventing a strong team like Vietnam from scoring another goal. My students played with the Vietnamese women's team with enjoyment and I believe they will improve every day. At least the players dared to face the Vietnamese women's team. I watched Vietnam play in the Women's Asian Cup and Women's World Cup. I know what they can do with their speed and technique. With the leading position in Southeast Asia, Vietnam plays with great confidence. In this group, the Vietnamese women's team is the strongest," coach Mohamed Athif assessed.
Support the Vietnam National Women's Football Team at the AFC Women's Asian Cup Australia 2026 Qualifiers, live and exclusively on FPT Play, visit http://fptplay.vn
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/hlv-mai-duc-chung-tiet-lo-ly-do-huynh-nhu-khong-da-chinh-hlv-maldives-noi-dieu-nghen-ngao-185250629224643749.htm
Comment (0)