At noon on March 9, at the pre-match press conference, coach Mai Duc Chung and midfielder Nguyen Thi Bich Thuy shared about the preparation of the Vietnamese women's team before the confrontation with the Japanese women's team.
Assessing the opponent, coach Mai Duc Chung said that the Japanese women's team is one of the leading teams in Asia and the world. According to him, in this group, Japan is rated highest, while the remaining three teams including Vietnam, India and Taiwan (China) are competing for the next positions.
“This match is a very big challenge for the Vietnamese women's team when we have to face the Japanese team - a team with top level in Asia as well as the world. This is the last match of the group stage, so the whole team will try with the highest determination, even knowing that the opponent is very strong,” coach Mai Duc Chung shared.
Regarding the physical condition of the players after the match against the Taiwan (China) women's team, coach Mai Duc Chung said that playing at noon in hot weather conditions somewhat affected the physical condition of the players. However, the whole team had two days of rest and training to recover.
The players have now returned to normal. The next match takes place in the afternoon, so the weather is also more pleasant. However, when facing the Japanese team, all teams must try their best," he said.
Sharing more about tactical preparation, coach Mai Duc Chung said that the Vietnamese women's team has faced Japan many times and understands the professionalism as well as the discipline of the opponent.
“We have met Japan many times and know they always play very seriously in every match. Therefore, the whole team has prepared tactics to be able to play best against this opponent,” he emphasized.
Regarding the competition for a quarter-final spot, coach Mai Duc Chung said that the coaching staff and players are not too concerned about the results of other matches.
As we shared before, the team does not care too much about the results of other teams. The most important thing is that we must try our best, decide our own chances with a match with the highest determination," he affirmed.
Meanwhile, midfielder Nguyen Thi Bich Thuy said that the whole team quickly stabilized their spirit and looked forward to the match with high determination.
Not only myself but the whole team has consolidated their spirit. We will enter the match with the highest determination and try our best to play until the last minutes," Bich Thuy shared.
According to the midfielder of the Vietnamese women's team, the confrontation with Japan is important for the team's chances of going further.
Tomorrow's match may decide the chances of Vietnam women's team entering the next round. No matter which opponent they play against, the whole team always puts determination and solidarity first to be able to perform best on the field.
After the match against the Taiwan (China) women's team, the coaching staff and players also held a meeting to learn from experience, and at the same time have the best preparation in terms of physical strength as well as tactics for the next match.
The match between the Vietnam women's team and the Japan women's team will take place at 4:00 PM on March 10th (Vietnam time).
