Waiting for the sweet last time of coach Mai Duc Chung

Chờ lần cuối ngọt ngào của HLV Mai Đức Chung - Ảnh 1. — Coach Mai Duc Chung determined to help the Vietnamese women's team compete well in the 2024 Olympic qualifiers

SLIGHT CHANCE

The Olympic qualifiers, the tournament that coach Mai Duc Chung and the Vietnamese women's team are about to participate in, are considered the most difficult playground for women's teams, even more difficult than the World Cup qualifiers. Because while the Asian World Cup finals have 4-5 places to participate, the number of places in the Olympic finals is reduced to 2.

To qualify for the Olympics, the Vietnamese women's team must win the group stage, or be the best runner-up (out of three runners-up) in the second qualifying round. Then, in the third qualifying round, the four best teams will play a home-and-away knockout match, selecting two teams to go to the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The competition is fierce even for the top teams in Asia. The five "big sister" teams including Australia, Japan, South Korea, China and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, along with the teams in the lower group, will compete for 2 tickets, with a very slim chance.

In the second qualifying round, the opponents of the Vietnamese women's team are Japan, Uzbekistan and India. In particular, the Japanese women's team just defeated the Vietnamese women's team 7-0 at the 19th ASIAD with a young squad. Coach Mai Duc Chung admitted that getting points against Japan is very difficult, so the reasonable goal is to limit the number of goals conceded and show good fighting spirit.

Fortunately for the Vietnamese women's team, the match against Japan is in the last round. If they can handle the first two matches against Uzbekistan (October 26) and India (October 29), the opportunity to aim for the second place in the group with the best results for coach Mai Duc Chung and his team will be clearer.

" FIRE" FOR THE LAST TIME

The Vietnamese women's team had a tough year, competing in 4 tournaments (SEA Games, ASIAD, Olympic qualifiers 1 and 2, World Cup) in just 7 months. The players trained and competed continuously, without long breaks. After returning from ASIAD 19, the players only rested for 7 days before training again.

The constant intensity of exercise made the players somewhat exhausted, especially at ASIAD 19. However, the continuous experience helped Hai Yen and her teammates mature. And in the final tournament with coach Mai Duc Chung, the players were even more motivated to try their best in the last time they fought alongside their devoted teacher.

Nearly two decades with 3 stages of coaching the women's team, Mr. Chung is the "warrior" who has led his students from scouting in Southeast Asia to now reaching out to Asia (fourth place in ASIAD 17) and winning a ticket to the 2023 World Cup. Leaving the coaching chair after the Olympic qualifying round, Coach Mai Duc Chung will leave a void and a lot of pressure for his successor. However, the 74-year-old strategist has built a good foundation for the women's team in terms of playing style and personnel. Vietnamese women's football must continue to move forward, even without the figure of "general" Chung holding the sand table to direct his students.

With its current strength, the Vietnamese women's team is in the top 8 in Asia, but to participate in the World Cup regularly and defend its position at the SEA Games, Vietnamese women's football still has a long way to go. The transition is coming, and it will start with the end of coach Mai Duc Chung and his students in these final matches.

Commentator Vu Quang Huy shared: "The chance of the Vietnamese team going to the Olympics is quite slim, when the players have to face very strong opponents. I hope the whole team will have the best results, although I know it will be difficult to get tickets, but I hope the players will show their will to compete as well as inherit the playing style and experience accumulated over time. With Vietnamese women's football, coach Mai Duc Chung has contributed the best. It can be affirmed that with the limited potential of Vietnamese women's football, it is difficult for anyone to do better than Mr. Chung. Whatever the result, this is a perfect ending, closing the glorious journey of coach Mai Duc Chung with the Vietnamese women's team. I hope that in the future, Vietnamese women's football will have the inheritance, promote the foundation that Mr. Chung left, take advantage of the World Cup boost to fly even higher".

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