Women’s Quarter-final: Vietnam push China to the limit in narrow defeat

Entering the knockout quarter-final against a superior China side, Vietnam Women’s Team faced an uphill task in their bid to advance. Nevertheless, Hoàng Văn Phúc’s players stepped onto the pitch with confidence, discipline and determination as they looked to cause an upset.

From the opening whistle, China Women’s Team pushed forward and applied sustained pressure on goalkeeper Kim Thanh, forcing Vietnam to sit deep and defend. The first real danger came in the seventh minute when China unleashed a dangerous effort, but Kim Thanh produced an excellent save to deny them. Just three minutes later, Vietnam responded with a sharp counter-attack as Vạn Sự broke through and went one-on-one with goalkeeper Xiao Zilong. Unfortunately, her finish lacked the precision needed to open the scoring.

China continued to apply constant pressure in the following minutes. However, Vietnam’s defence remained focused, provided solid cover and marked their opponents closely, successfully blocking China’s attacks inside the penalty area to keep the score at 0-0 until half-time.

After the restart, the pattern of the game remained largely unchanged as China continued to increase the pressure. However, the experience gained from Vietnam’s training camp and friendly match against the same opponents earlier in September helped head coach Hoàng Văn Phúc devise an effective approach to the game. Vietnam’s players remained proactive in covering for one another and closed down the spaces, leaving China frustrated and unable to find a way through.

As the match entered its closing stages, the frustration on the Chinese players’ faces became increasingly evident as they continued to search for the opening goal. In the final minute of stoppage time at the end of 90 minutes, goalkeeper Kim Thanh once again proved decisive with a superb save, sending the match into extra time.

During the first period of extra time, China threw everything forward but still could not find a way past Vietnam’s defence, raising hopes of a surprise result for Hoàng Văn Phúc’s side. Unfortunately, the breakthrough came in cruel fashion in the 109th minute. Following a central attacking move, star player Wang Shuang took advantage of an opening to finish from close range and score the only goal of the match for China.

In the remaining minutes, Vietnam pushed forward in search of an equaliser, but there was simply not enough time. Although their Asian Games campaign came to an end in the quarter-finals, Hoàng Văn Phúc’s side can hold their heads high after a courageous performance that forced title contenders China to battle through a demanding 120 minutes.

Following the match, on behalf of the Executive Committee and Standing Executive Committee of the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF), VFF President Trần Quốc Tuấn encouraged and praised the Vietnam Women’s Team for their courageous performance. President Trần Quốc Tuấn emphasised that, although the team did not advance to the semi-finals, the players could be proud of their journey at the 2026 Asian Games, particularly their spirited and resilient 120-minute display in the quarter-final.

In recognition of the team’s efforts, VFF awarded the Vietnam Women’s Team an encouragement bonus of VND 300 million.