After the 2-1 victory of the Vietnamese women's team against India in the opening match of the AFC Women's Asian Cup 2026 finals on the evening of March 4, coach Mai Duc Chung highly appreciated the fighting spirit of his students.
Speaking at the post-match press conference, Mr. Chung said: "The two teams are evenly matched. We were luckier and won the match. This is motivation for the Vietnamese women's team.
The disadvantage for us is that after the Tet holiday period, the players only practice instead of playing and rubbing shoulders. Therefore, the feeling of real combat in the opening match is not really good.
Speaking about the time the Vietnamese women's team was equalized in the second half, the 74-year-old coach said: "When we were equalized by India, we were not discouraged. The cheers and encouragement of Vietnamese fans in the stands added morale for the team to try harder, aiming for the next goal.
I also need to emphasize that the Vietnamese women's team controlled the ball better than India. The problem is that the team did not score many goals. On the Indian side, they mainly play long balls rather than short combinations, so the players can also read the game.
The team confidently and boldly played and I also thought my students would score more goals. In the end, in injury time, the Vietnamese women's team won 2-1 overall”.
Meanwhile, midfielder Ngan Thi Van Su - who scored a double in this match - shared: "We played with 200% of our strength. The coaching staff also put forward reasonable tactics for us to have good results.
When the unfortunate goal happened, the whole team encouraged each other that there was still a lot of time, we had to try harder. We tried our best to get 3 points. Also related to the conceded goal situation, the team will learn from experience to consolidate for the next match.
The victory in the opening match helped the Vietnamese women's team have a favorable start at the continental tournament, while creating positive psychological momentum for the next matches.
