A goal for life...
In the 55th minute, Bich Thuy handled a "10 point" with just enough counter-attacking before launching a powerful left-footed shot that defeated the opposing goalkeeper. The goal of the Quang Ngai midfielder helped the Vietnamese women's team seal a 2-1 victory over the Taiwanese women's team and created a historic miracle when they qualified for the 2023 World Cup for the first time.
Ahead of the 2022 Women's Asian Cup, when more than half of the squad was infected with COVID-19 in Spain, Bich Thuy was one of 6 players eligible to fly to India. However, after entering the country, the midfielder born in 1994 tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. She could not practice and compete with her teammates in the first two matches.
"The whole team was unlucky to be involved in the epidemic in Spain. We have some psychological problems, the tournament is coming, so the waiting, preparation and chance of winning a ticket to the World Cup may be ruined.
I am the fewest player to reach India sooner. When the results were positive, I was a bit scared, but with the attention of the leaders of the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) and the coaching staff, the fear gradually subsided.
Although a bit panicked, they still tried to have fun and relax so that the family would not worry. During quarantine, my mother's words of encouragement helped me overcome. Moreover, Mai Duc Chung and the head of the delegation, Truong Hai Tung, are very interested in the players," Bich Thuy recalled.
After about 10 days, the player from Ho Chi Minh City club was recovered and immediately returned to the field. She played in the decisive match against Myanmar, helping the Vietnam women's team reach the quarter-finals of the 2022 Asian Cup for women.
The midfielder confided: "I am an athlete, often active. During those 10 days, I was locked in a room, I wanted to play. Each person's physical condition is different, it took me a long time to recover.
It was not until the afternoon of January 26 that I had a negative result. The next afternoon, I had a light run for 20 minutes at the gym and the next day I entered the stadium.
After recovering from the disease, I was still very tired, especially when breathing was quite difficult when moving at high speed. However, I myself am always optimistic and try, when I have the opportunity to enter the field, I play my best. At that time, I only thought about the World Cup goal."
Talking about the decisive goal against Taiwan, Bich Thuy expressed: "My job is playing as a winger. Actually, I score many times in such situations, when I have the chance I will do it. I know how to penetrate the penalty area, control the ball and shoot.
When they were equalized, the Vietnam women's team was even more eager. That important goal helped me relieve the psychology of myself and my teammates. I left the field at the end of the second half. Before the final whistle, I was outside praying every second and every minute, and tears flowed at that time...".
World Cup ticket is a gift for the late father
Unlike her teammates, Bich Thuy has not practiced football since childhood. In grade 9, when participating in a sports tournament at school, a teacher discovered the talent of this player and convinced his family to try his hand at Ho Chi Minh City club. Bich Thuy immediately received the award.
After a month of professional training, Thuy asked to return because she missed her family. After that, coaches called to advise the midfielder to return to training. So the girl from Quang Ngai "packed up the squid" to Ho Chi Minh City.
Bich Thuy confided: "My father is the one who always encourages me to continue pursuing my passion, pursuing a career in shorts and shirts. But sadly, my father passed away so I cannot witness today's success".
After stopping, Thuy continued: "A few years ago, before going abroad to compete, I was able to return home to visit my family for 3 days, I said I wanted to stay at home with my father. No one told me that their father was seriously ill. I wish I would wear a national team jersey with the Vietnamese flag. The first day I wore the national team jersey was also the day my father left this world.
Before the Asian Cup, I always thought my father would be with me from Spain to India. I also told myself that my father would bless the whole team to fulfill their World Cup dream. Stepping out onto the field, I looked up to the sky and prayed that my father would be with me. If you were alive, I would say I can do it.
In the past, when my father was young, my father often confided that today, he plays like this and that, but now his mother and sister do this and that instead of him. Now, I can be proud of having fulfilled the things my father once wished for".
The World Cup is a big dream for every player and so does Bich Thuy. Winning a ticket to the World Cup, the midfielder born in 1994 hopes that the whole team will prepare well, maintaining a strong determination before entering the tournament.
"The Vietnamese women's team will prove to fans that we deserved to be at the World Cup, not a fortune," Bich Thuy confidently said.
