The dream final scenario between Vietnam and Thailand has not become a reality. Instead, the Philippines - a team that has made strong strides in the past 3 years - participated in the gold medal match of a SEA Games for the first time.
Recent head-to-head statistics do not support coach Mai Duc Chung and his team. In the last 3 encounters, Vietnam all suffered defeats against the Philippines, including a 0-4 loss at the 2022 Southeast Asian Championship and two narrow 1-2, 0-1 defeats in the group stage of the 2023 and 2025 SEA Games. The Philippines is a rare team that has continuously caused sadness for the Vietnam women's team for a long time.
The rise of the Philippine women's team comes from the policy of using many naturalized players of Philippine origin trained in the US. Thanks to their outstanding physique and effective aerial combat capabilities, they often make a difference from set pieces. The 1-0 victory in extra time against Vietnam in the group stage of the recent SEA Games was a clear demonstration, when the opponent only needed a few aerial battles to decide the match.
It is not ruled out that the Philippines will continue to apply that familiar playing style in the final match taking place tonight (December 17). In terms of physique, the opponent is clearly better than the Vietnamese players.
However, this is also an opportunity for Huynh Nhu and her teammates to end a series of unsatisfactory matches against this team.
After the defeat in the group stage, the Vietnam women's team showed a clear improvement, especially in finishing. In the matches against Indonesia and Myanmar, the ability to take advantage of opportunities of Bich Thuy and her teammates was significantly improved, demonstrated through 7 goals scored.
In the process of preparing for the final match, the coaching staff deployed many tactical options, from short coordination at the edge to encroachments on the central level. The ability to finish is also focused on to help strikers like Bich Thuy, Hai Yen, Thanh Nha or Huynh Nhu achieve the highest confidence when playing against their opponents.
At the present time, the Vietnamese women's team is determined to eliminate the "class" against the Philippines. If they overcome the biggest challenge in the past 3 years, it will be a strong affirmation of the bravery and class of the "Golden Star Warriors".
