The 2025 Southeast Asian Women's Football Championship is witnessing many interesting surprises. The reigning champion Philippines disappointed when they only won 4 points after 3 matches (won Timor Leste, lost to Australia, drew with Myanmar), thereby stopping early in the group stage.
Meanwhile, the Vietnam women's team won a ticket to the knockout round as the top team in Group A. Coach Mai Duc Chung and his team won all 3 matches against Indonesia, Cambodia and Thailand. In particular, the match against the Golden Temple team is considered an "early final" between the two leading football teams in the region.
In the remaining group, the Myanmar women's team surprised everyone when they continued as the top team in Group B. The second-placed team, Australia, also showed some strength, especially the victory over the Philippines to enter the top 4 strongest teams.
According to the division of matches, in the semi-finals, the Vietnam women's team will face Australia - the team currently ranked 15th on the FIFA rankings. However, the Australian squad bringing to the Southeast Asian tournament this time is mostly young players (mainly the U23 team) with the purpose of competing and accumulating experience.
Previously, in the group stage, the team from the land of the Kangaroos lost 1-2 to Myanmar in the opening match.
However, the representative from the ocean is still in a good physical condition and better physique than other Southeast Asian players. This will be a big challenge for the Vietnam women's team. However, on the contrary, if they can defeat Australia, Huynh Nhu and her teammates will have a great opportunity to win the championship.
In this year's tournament, Myanmar or Thailand are still highly appreciated names. However, the forces of these teams are in a transitional phase, no longer as strong as before.
The results and performances in the group stage also showed the instability of these two teams. As for Thailand, they have not shown much when facing Vietnam and losing 0-1.
Therefore, as long as they pass the semi-finals, facing Thailand or Myanmar in the final will be an "easier" challenge for coach Mai Duc Chung and his team.
If they win the 2025 Southeast Asian Women's Football Championship, the Vietnam women's team will have their 4th victory in this arena, thereby equalting the record of 4 times crowned by the Thai women's team. Previously, the "Golden Star Warriors" won the championship in 2006, 2012 and 2019.
Coach Mai Duc Chung and his students have repeatedly proven their mettle in important moments. With current form and a squad combining experienced pillars and a generation of young players, Vietnamese fans have the right to dream of a 4th championship.
The semi-final match between the Vietnamese women's team and the Australian women's team will take place at 8:00 p.m. on August 16 at Lach Tray Stadium (Hai Phong). Previously, at 4:00 p.m., Thailand will face Myanmar in the first semi-final.
