On the evening of August 12, after the Vietnam women's team won against Thailand and closed the group stage of the 2025 Southeast Asian Women's Football Championship, coach Mai Duc Chung expressed his satisfaction with his students' performance. The Vietnam women's team scored 14 goals, kept a clean sheet and affirmed their superior strength.
However, the joy of victory also comes with worries about the strength. Key midfielder Duong Thi Van suffered a knee ligament injury and is expected to be out of action for 2-3 weeks. This means that Duong Thi Van will not be able to join the Vietnam women's team to participate in the remainder of the 2025 Southeast Asian tournament.
This is a significant loss as Van is an important factor in the team's counter-attacking defense. In addition, strikers Thanh Nha and Van Su also have physical problems, forcing the coaching staff to calculate carefully for the remaining journey.
In the match against Thailand, coach Mai Duc Chung adjusted his tactics when pulling Huynh Nhu to play low, giving the striker role to Bich Thuy to increase attacking efficiency. This change helped the Vietnam women's team dominate the game, while the defense played tightly, making it almost impossible for the opponent to play. Hai Linh was given the opportunity to replace Duong Thi Van and also completed her mission well.
Ahead of the Vietnam women's team will be the semi-final match taking place on the afternoon of August 16. The opponent of coach Mai Duc Chung and his team will be determined after the first and final round of Group B ends tonight (August 13.
