Vietnam defeated by China in Women's Olympic Qualifying opener
Vietnam were beaten 0-2 by China in the 2016 Olympics Asian women's football final qualification round in Japan on Monday
A Chinese player controls the ball against two Vietnamese players in a game at the 2016 Olympics Asian women’s final qualification round in Osaka, Japan on February 29, 2016.
The Chinese girls dominated the game, scoring both goals in the second half to secure a victory in their opening game at the tournament in Osaka.
China are the world’s number 17, while the Vietnamese women are a dozen notches below, in 29th place.
Vietnam managed to defend as China staged strong attacks, even denying a penalty kick in the 53rd minute, with goalie Kieu Trinh disappointing Li Dongna.
However, Gu Yasha netted the first goal inside the box in the 57thminute, before Rui Zhang nailed the game with a penalty goal five minutes later.
Despite the loss, the Vietnamese women and their coach, Mai Duc Chung, were lauded for their brave and strong spirit.
Running from February 29 to March 9, the Osaka event is the final round of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) qualifiers for the Rio 2016 women’s football tournament, according to FIFA.
The six-team tournament sees Japan, China, South Korea, North Korea, Australia and Vietnam challenge one another for only two tickets to Brazil.
The Rio 2016 Summer Olympics takes place from August 5 to 21 in Rio de Janeiro, with a 12-team tournament for women’s football.
At the Osaka tourney, Vietnam will face Australia on March 2, North Korea on March 4, Japan on March 7 and South Korea on March 9.
Chung and his players in fact have little hope to book a spot in Rio, as Japan are the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup winners and London 2012 silver medalists, whereas North Korea are the three-time Asian champions.
China and Australia, in the meantime, were both quarterfinalists of the 2015 World Cup in Canada.
The women’s football category at the Olympics has been described as a ‘mini World Cup,’ featuring three nations in the FIFA/Coca-Cola Women’s World Ranking top ten, five in the top 20, and some of the best female footballers on the planet.
