Vietnam (red) clash Singapore at the 2018 AFF Women's Championship in July 2018. (Source: VnExpress)Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - The Vietnamesewomen’s football team have a golden opportunity to advance to the next round ofthe Tokyo 2020 Olympic qualification in Uzbekistan this week.
The second round of qualifying will kick off on April3, with defending Southeast Asian champions Vietnam in Group B together withHong Kong, Jordan and the hosts Uzbekistan.
Speaking with reporters after their firsttraining session in the national’s capital in Tashkent this weekend,coach Mai Duc Chung said: "Players need time to get familiar with theweather and environment here. We have to prepare well for the matches."
"Apart from Uzbekistan, who we have notplayed before, the other teams are at the same or lower level compared to Vietnam,who are the world No 35 and No 6 in Asia. In 2014, we beat Hong Kong at theAsian Games in the Republic of Korea. Last year we defeated Jordan at the AsianChampionship qualifier," he said.
Chung however pointed out that all three teamswere in better physical condition than Vietnam, who had been working on theirconditioning for a month.
Prior to the Tashkent event, Vietnam took partin a six-day training camp in Myanmar, winning one and losing one friendly tothe Myanmar women, which according to coach Chung were good warm-ups for histeam.
"We are in the process of rejuvenation so the players are notgiven any target for this qualification. They are just asked to learn what theycan for the future. However, overall Vietnam still have a chance to overcomethis challenge," he said.
Vietnam will play Uzbekistan in the first match on April 3 at theLokomotiv Stadium.
In this second qualifying round, the winners of the three groupswill advance to the third and penultimate round of qualification.
The Vietnamese women have yet to qualify for theOlympics, though came close to securing a ticket to the Rio de Janeiro editionin 2016, only losing out in the final round.-VNS/VNA
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