Women football

Due to no international games being played due to disruption caused by the ongoing fight against the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the Vietnamese team remain on 1,657 points, making them the sixth strongest side in Asia and 33rd in the world.

Most notably, the Vietnamese footballers have maintained their leading place in Southeast Asia, followed by Thailand who are ranked as the seventh strongest team in Asia and are in 39th place worldwide.

The leading five Asian teams include Australia, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Japan, China, and the Republic of Korea.

At the top of the rankings, the United States lead the way with 2,192 points and hold on to the top position, followed by Germany, the Netherlands, France, Sweden, and England.

Moving forward, the Vietnamese team plan to meet in late May and early June following the conclusion of the 2021 National Women’s Football Championship.

Looking ahead to the rest of the year, the women’s football team are scheduled to compete in the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Women’s Championship, in addition to the upcoming 31st Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.

Most notably, the women’s national squad are set to participate in qualification matches for the 2022 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women’s Asian Cup. The tournament will also serve as the first round of matches in the Asian qualifiers for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

Despite these plans, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic may cause the national team’s schedule to be adjusted, with coach Mai Duc Chung doing his utmost to prepare the side for future international tournaments.

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has announced that the final round of the 2022 AFC Women’s Asian Cup will take place in India from January 20 to February 6, 2022. It will serve as the final stage in Asian qualification for the 2023 FIFA World Cup which will be held in Australia and New Zealand, with both sides automatically qualifying as hosts.

Most notably, strong rivals in the form of the DPRK have been disqualified from the tournament after forfeiting qualifiers for the Tokyo Olympics without reason, thereby offering the Vietnamese women’s national team a greater chance of making it to the 2023 World Cup.

Three Asian football powerhouses, including Japan, the Republic of Korea, and China, will take the continent’s first three slots.

The two remaining places will be filled by either Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, Uzbekistan, the Philippines, or Jordan.

The target of the Vietnamese women’s football team led by head coach Mai Duc Chung is to defend their championship title at the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Cup, the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, and win a ticket to compete in the FIFA World Cup.

The series of training sessions are due to last for one month and will finish ahead of the annual Lunar New Year Festival, known locally as Tet, according to the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF).

Looking ahead to 2021, the women’s football team are about to compete in the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Women’s Championship, in addition to the 31st Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.

Most notably, the women’s national squad will participate in qualification matches for the the 2022 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women’s Asian Cup. This tournament will also serve as the first round of matches in the Asian qualifiers for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

This comes following FIFA announcing on August 1 that the number of teams taking part in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup will increase from 24 to 32.

In line with FIFA’s decision, the Women’s World Cup will therefore be expanded from 2023. In the new format, national teams from Asia will compete for 8.5 slots as opposed to the previous five slots as before.

It therefore provides a good chance for the Vietnamese team following two failures in both 2015 and 2019.