Mai Duc Chung: Losing South Korea three goals is acceptable

Vietnam women team ended the third qualifiers of Olympic Tokyo with a 3-0 defeatto South Korea yet the the result does not affect its advancement to the next round.

“The whole team’s goals today are: conceding goals as less as possible, no players injured, no yellow cards. I am satisfied with my players’ performance,” said Mai Duc Chung.

After the glorious achievement in SEA Games, Vietnam women football team continues to rejuvenate their squad.

“Some are just 19 years old. This is the first time they play against such a strong opponent like this. I want to see them progress, get on well with others and they do really well,” Chung added.

For 90 minutes, the Vietnamese women's team could not withstand the power of the Korean whose football team had an easy match with many high-class coordination. The players in red shirts also had many subtle ball handling that made coach Mai Duc Chung side confused. The two mistakes by Hoang Thi Loan and goalkeeper Kim Thanh are examples.

Anyway, 3-0 is a big loss but it is the best ratio of the team in the past 5 years. Coach Mai Duc Chung acknowledged that the gap is still very far between the Vietnamese team and the top team in Asia:

"We haven't reached the level like Korea. The teams might lose 1, 2 and 3 goals but the coaching staff has urged the player to keep the spirit and. That's commendable.”

Finishing second in group A, the Vietnamese women's team will meet winner of Group B (most likely China or Australia). The play-off will be divided into two legs on March 6 and March 11 respectively. The two winning teams will win tickets to the Tokyo Olympic 2020 women's football.