The Vietnam women's national football team (Vietnamese: Đội tuyển bóng đá nữ quốc gia Việt Nam) is a women's football team representing Vietnam and controlled by Vietnam Football Federation (VFF). It is the most successful women's football team in Southeast Asia and ranks 5th in Asia. The team attended the Women's World Cup in 2023 for the first time but was knocked out in the group stages.[2]
History
Early history and an established Southeast Asian powerhouse
Vietnam women's football was established in 1990, but it was not until 1997 that the women's team had their first match. The team has become one of the most powerful football women's team in Southeast Asia since 2001 along with Thailand. Vietnam cemented its position in the region by winning gold medals at the AFF Women's Championship in 2006, 2012 and 2019. Also, in the SEA Games women's level, Vietnam also cemented its position, winning gold in 2001, 2003, 2005, 2009, 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2023 editions.
In spite of being a major powerhouse in Southeast Asian women's football, Vietnam has fallen short in continental tournaments like the AFC Women's Asian Cup and Asian Games. Vietnam first qualified for the Women's Asian Cup in 1999 and has since maintained the qualifying streak, and had hosted the competitions twice, first in 2008 and second in 2014, but Vietnam failed to progress from the group stage each time. To make the matter worse, Vietnam even missed out the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in a painful playoff defeat at home to arch-rival Thailand 1–2.
At the Asian Games, Vietnam first participated in the 1998 Asian Games in Thailand, and for the first four editions, Vietnam had little to impress, and Vietnam's first win only came in the 2010 Asian Games. Vietnam made a major breakthrough at the 2014 Asian Games, finishing fourth place for the first time. Vietnam again progressed from the group stage in the 2018 Asian Games, but failed to Chinese Taipei after penalty shootout.
First Women's World Cup and Group Stage Exit
In the pre-2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup friendlies in Spain, preparations had been plagued by the COVID-19 pandemic as several players were found to be infected with the virus.[3] However, the Vietnamese side was able to have enough players for the group stage, where they lost to two Asian powerhouses South Korea and Japan both by 0–3. The Vietnamese team finally reached the quarter-finals of a Women's Asian Cup for the first-time after a struggling 2–2 draw with Myanmar, which also effectively knocked the Burmese out of the tournament. In Vietnam's first knockout phase experience, Vietnam lost to China at the quarterfinals, then entered the playoff phase against old foes Thailand and Chinese Taipei. This time, with Thailand and Chinese Taipei plagued by coronavirus, Vietnam was able to win the playoff round, thus qualified for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, their first World Cup in history.[4] The successful participation of Vietnam women's team has been notable after a string of football reforms initiated since late 2010s to promote women's football at universal level such as schools, universities and companies after the failure to qualify for the 2015 Women's World Cup, though challenges have persisted due to cultural issues and the lack of a professional domestic league in the country. To further improve Vietnam women's football standard, an attempt to create an independent development fund for women's football has been underlined, while calls to professionalise the domestic league have also been taken for the first time.[5][6]
Their first match against defending champions United States in the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup ended in 3–0, followed by their second, 2–0 defeat against fellow debutants Portugal, ending their Round of 16 dreams. The team was again out-matched 7-0 by the Netherlands in their final game of the tournament. The Vietnamese women's team finished dead last in their debut appearance of the Women's World Cup, marred by their lackluster performance overall.
Team image
Nicknames
The team does not have nickname officially. They have been known by several nicknames and are self-named by fans and media such as Những Nữ Chiến Binh Sao Vàng (Golden Star Women Warriors),[7][8] similar to the nickname Những Chiến Binh Sao Vàng (Golden Star Warriors) from the men's team.
The following 22 players were called up for a training camp to prepare for the 2024 AFC Olympic Qualifiers in October 2023 .[26] Caps and goals are updated as of 1 November 2023 after the match against Japan.
^Thảo Du. "Lý do nhãn hàng lớn bỏ bóng đá Việt Nam" [The reason the big brand abandons Vietnamese football] (in Vietnamese). Nhượng Quyền Việt Nam. Archived from the original on 8 February 2018. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
(16 August 2024)[1]
Thailand 3–2 Vietnam 
North Korea 12–1 Vietnam 
Australia 11–0 Vietnam 
Nepal 
4', 7'
Malaysia 
Philippines 
Cambodia 
Spain XI 
Netherlands 
Uzbekistan 
Cédric Roger
Winners (3): 2006, 2012, 2019
Runners-up (3): 2004, 2008, 2016
Third place (5): 2004, 2007, 2011, 2013, 2018
Gold Medal (8)- record: 2001, 2003, 2005, 2009, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2023
Jakarta, Indonesia
Laos
Singapore
Jordan
2001
2010
2002
2006
2034
2007
Japan.
Bahrain
Chinese Taipei
Colombia
Guam
Hong Kong
Iran
Kyrgyzstan
Mexico
Syria
Tajikistan
East Timor
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