Ahead of the 2025 Southeast Asian Women's Football Championship, coach Mai Duc Chung and captain Huynh Nhu attended a press conference on the afternoon of August 5.
Coach Mai Duc Chung affirmed the importance of the tournament: "The Southeast Asian Women's Championship is an important front, and at the same time an opportunity for us to compete, helping us prepare directly for the SEA Games taking place at the end of this year".
He also said that the team has been closely monitoring the opponents in the same group, Indonesia, Thailand and Cambodia: "They have made very positive changes. So we have to try, focus and make efforts in each match. An advantage for the Vietnam women's team is playing at home. The support of the fans will give us more motivation. I hope fans will accompany and cheer for the Vietnam women's team in this tournament".
As captain, Huynh Nhu continued to inspire: "My goal and the entire Vietnamese women's team is to try to show off, bringing victory to the audience in Hai Phong in particular and the whole country in general. The team's ultimate goal is to win the Southeast Asian Women's Championship."
She also recalled memorable memories at Lach Tray: In 2003, the Vietnam women's team also won the championship at Lach Tray. I will also consider that as motivation to be able to make history once again".
On the other side of the front line, coach Futoshi Ikeda of the Thai women's team admitted the limitations of the force: "Because the tournament is not included in the FIFA Days schedule, Thailand has difficulty calling up the best players. However, we are still very confident as we have young players in the team. This is an opportunity for them to challenge themselves.
He said that faces aged 17-19 will not be under too much pressure: I think there will not be any significant pressure. The players are excited and eager to show themselves. Our immediate goal is to pass the group stage, before thinking about the next steps.
Meanwhile, Indonesia and Cambodia also have their own expectations. Indonesia coach Joko Jusilo said: Our goal is to bring a good performance at the tournament in Vietnam. We hope to win every match.
Coach Gyotoku Koji (Cambodia) frankly acknowledged: This is definitely a difficult tournament for the Cambodian team. The three teams of Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia are all strong opponents, so we will try our best to get 3 points in this tournament".
Up to now, the Vietnamese women's team has won the Southeast Asian championship three times (2006, 2012, 2019), while Thailand holds the record with four championships. In the context that the arch-rivals do not have the strongest squad, this is considered an excellent opportunity for coach Mai Duc Chung and his team to balance the opponent's achievements right at home.
