Head coach Mai Duc Chung: Vietnam team will defend tight and counterattack quickly…
On the afternoon of July 26, head coach Mai Duc Chung and captain of the Vietnam women’s team Huynh Nhu attended the press conference before the match against Portugal women’s team, organized by FIFA.
27/07/2023 06:09:52
Talking about the second match at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, coach Mai Duc Chung said: “Tomorrow is the second match of the Vietnam and Portugal teams. Both teams lost their first match, so I think this showdown will be great for both teams. On the FIFA rankings, Portugal is above us. I guess the Portugal team will attack, while the Vietnam national team defends tightly and counterattacks quickly …”.
Coach Mai Duc Chung assessed: “Our stature and strength would not equal Portugal’s. They often play long balls, and high balls, and attack on two sides of the opponent. Fortunately for us, the Portugal women’s team will not have the service of Famita Pinto due to injury. It’s a quality face of the Portugal women’s team.”
Mai Duc Chung continued: “Everybody wants to win. I know Portugal will cause a lot of difficulties for Vietnam, but the team has also practiced tight defense and quick counterattacks. If we got the ball from home, the team will counterattack quickly towards the opponent with 2-3 passes. If they win, it will be great for the Vietnam women’s team. Travel broadens the mind. Recently, we played against Spain, New Zealand, Germany, USA. Through those matches, we are more confident, understand how we need to play, and how to deal with good-shape opponents. We learned a lot!”.
Regarding the fact that the weather in Hamilton is much colder than in Auckland (New Zealand), coach Mai Duc Chung said: “We have the plan to prepare such as wearing warm clothes, and drinking ginger tea before the competition. The weather in Hamilton is cold at the moment, but the heart of Vietnam’s player is very hot!”. He sent to the fans: “Let’s cheer for Vietnam national team tomorrow!”.
Answering a reporter’s question about whether the victory of the Philippines will be a motivation or pressure for the Vietnam women’s team, head coach Mai Duc Chung shared: “The Philippine women’s team was very lucky to win against the host, but in football, there is such luck! Winning the Philippine women’s team will be a pressure for us. However, we don’t think that if the Philippine women’s team wins, we have to win too! Because no one can predict. Have to mention, the Philippines’ squad is a lot of naturalized, while the Vietnam team is only Vietnamese.”
An interesting question was asked by coach Mai Duc Chung about “Men wear suits on special occasions. Between wearing a suit to marry his wife 40 years ago and wearing a suit to the World Cup, which time do you feel more nervous?”. The old general said: “A suit has meaning for my whole life. And this suit is the biggest milestone of my career. I think every suit is very precious. As a husband and father, I take care of my family and do business. As a coach, I take care of the players. To me, those are great things!”
