Losing to Portugal is a big lesson for the Vietnamese women's team

"We are a very new team, participating in the World Cup for the first time, still very young. Through this tournament, we will learn and gain experience and gradually improve," said coach Mai Duc Chung after the match between the Vietnamese women's team and Portugal.

The 73-year-old coach said that the Vietnamese players tried their best but were powerless when their opponents were superior in skill. According to coach Mai Duc Chung, he and his students learned a great lesson about knowing themselves and knowing others in football.

Vietnam Women's Team 0-2 Portugal

"This match teaches Vietnamese players to know where our level is, and we cannot think that losing a match with the US team with such a small margin is good. That is only possible with a courageous spirit," said the head coach of the Vietnamese women's team.

In the post-match press conference, coach Mai Duc Chung admitted that his players entered the game in the wrong way, somewhat subjectively leading to 2 goals conceded in the first half. He was not satisfied with this performance and sternly reminded the players.

After two matches at the World Cup, the Vietnamese women's team has yet to score a goal. However, according to coach Mai Duc Chung, in a difficult group, each match is a valuable opportunity for him and his students to learn lessons.

"We still have a match with the Netherlands. That is also a lesson for the players to see their level and what they need to do to play well," coach Mai Duc Chung added.

"I learned a lot. I learned about the style of play, the movement and coordination of the teams. At the world level, physical strength and tactics are the most important. Our team is small and not physically strong.

Recently, we have tried our best to train our physical strength, but this problem must be practiced from a young age. Even our skills are not good, we still fail to receive the ball, pass the ball too lightly, and make many mistakes. I want the players to see in reality where we are still lacking in order to learn and gain experience."

Phuong Mai