In the afternoon of August 11, the Vietnamese women's team continued to train at the Vietnam Youth Football Training Center, in the process of preparing for ASIAD 2026. Sharing before the training session, head coach Hoang Van Phuc said that the coaching staff is giving opportunities to young faces, aiming to build a successor force.
At the ASIAD 2026 women's football draw held on July 23 in Nagoya (Japan), the Vietnamese women's team was in Group A with host Japan, Taiwan (China) and Thailand. This is considered a difficult group when Japan is in the group of top teams in the continent, while Taiwan (China) and Thailand are both noteworthy opponents.
Regarding not summoning Huynh Nhu in this gathering, coach Hoang Van Phuc said that the coaching staff has followed domestic tournaments to assess the players' performance. He affirmed that Huynh Nhu is still a player of class and has made many contributions to Vietnamese women's football, but the national team is facing the requirement of generational transition.
Huynh Nhu is a world-class player of Vietnamese women's football or before that Tuyet Dung. We are in the generational transition stage, so we need to find new factors, step by step preparing to be able to continue the seniors," coach Hoang Van Phuc shared.
In this gathering list, some young players were given opportunities, including Luu Hoang Van and Ngan Thi Thanh Hieu. Coach Hoang Van Phuc assessed that the young players have potential but need more playing time to accumulate experience.
Luu Hoang Van is currently playing regularly as a starter at Phong Phu Ha Nam Club. He has quite different speed and playing style. Ngan Thi Thanh Hieu is also a potential player, but needs to play more and strive to train harder," Mr. Phuc commented.
Regarding playing style, coach Hoang Van Phuc wants to build the Vietnamese women's team into a more cohesive and proactive team in both attack and defense.
“Football today, when we have the ball, we can play ball control, attack control and promote other factors. But when there is no ball, defense must start from the striker. Young players learn relatively quickly. I hope that with about a month of preparation time, they will grasp the requirements of the coaching staff and can play with positive results at ASIAD,” Mr. Phuc said.
Assessing the opponents in Group A, coach Hoang Van Phuc identified Taiwan (China) and Thailand as teams that need to be focused on researching.
Japan is a women's football power, while Thailand has the same level as us. Taiwan (China) is also progressing very quickly. We have carefully analyzed the three opponents and focused a lot on Taiwan (China) in the first match and Thailand in the last match," Mr. Phuc said.
From the analysis of the opponent, the coaching staff of the Vietnamese women's team is building a suitable tactical plan, with the ability to switch between pressing, ball control and counter-attacking defense.
To adapt to the weather conditions and playing time in Japan, the team's training schedule has also been adjusted. The morning of August 11 starts at 8:00 am instead of 8:30 am due to the hot weather in Hanoi. Meanwhile, the afternoon training session starts at 4:00 pm, similar to the expected time of the first match against Taiwan (China).
Regarding the list for ASIAD, the Vietnamese women's team currently has 29 players gathered, but the official registered list will be reduced to 23 players. According to coach Hoang Van Phuc, players with good form and ability to play in many positions will be prioritized.
