On the evening of August 23, the Vietnam women's volleyball team (ranked 22nd in the world) had their opening match against Poland (ranked third) at the 2025 World Championship.
Before the match, coach Nguyen Tuan Kiet and his team were rated much lower than their opponents, especially when missing the main attacker Nguyen Thi Bich Tuyen.
However, what seemed unlikely happened in the opening set.
Under pressure from the Polish audience and stars when the opponent launched the strongest squad, Thanh Thuy and her teammates still played confidently, defended strongly and counterattacked sharply.
As a result, Vietnam surprisingly took the lead with a 25-23 victory, concluding the first historic set in the world arena.
After this historic set win by Vietnam, superior class helped Poland gradually regain control of the game, winning the next 3 sets to close the match with a score of 3-1.
Despite the failure, the fiery spirit and resilience of the Vietnamese girls have made fans admire them, and at the same time opened up new confidence for the next stage in the tournament.
In this match, the name mentioned the most is Vi Thi Nhu Quynh. The 23-year-old hitter played steadily, moving flexibly and continuously breaking through the opponent's 3-man block.
With the ability to handle the ball intelligently and skillfully, Nhu Quynh became the main attacker when captain Thanh Thuy retreated. She ended the opening match with 20 points - the highest achievement in the team, achieving an efficiency of 40%.
In addition to Nhu Quynh, names like Bich Thuy, Kieu Trinh or Thanh Thuy also left their mark with their dedicated playing style. In the context of the national team not having the service of the number 1 setter Bich Tuyen, the cohesion and explosion of individuals brought great spiritual motivation.
After an impressive world debut, fans expect coach Nguyen Tuan Kiet and his team to continue to keep the fire burning in the second match against Germany, taking place at 5:00 p.m. on August 25.
