Vietnam targets to be in final round of Asian Cup
Vietnam is determine to pass the qualifying round of Group D in the 2018 AFC Women’s Asian Cup, which will kick off on April 3 in Hanoi, Coach Mai Duc Chung said at a press conference before the event on April 2.
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The other 16 teams are divided into three groups: Group A, Group B and Group C.
The three highest ranked women’s national teams from the last AFC Women’s Asian Cup – Japan, Australia and China – have automatically qualified in the eight-team finals. The group winners of each of the four groups will qualify for the finals in Jordan.
“At the qualification, Vietnam highly appreciated all rivals, and the team will make every effort in each match to gain the best results. The long-term target of Vietnam is to play in the continental arena and to win other international tournaments,” said Chung.
“Vietnam nearly reached its World Cup’s dream in 2014. We will strive for this,” Chung added.
“Vietnam faced several difficulties in the process of preparation for the qualification. The team’s footballers are mainly from Hanoi, HCM City, Quang Ninh and Ha Nam. The team had only one month of training in the bad weather, however, they showed great spirit,” noted Chung.
Myanmar and Iran will be Vietnam’s strongest rivals in the group.
“We come to Vietnam for a ticket to compete in the event’s final round. Although our team is very young, but under the investment of the Myanmar Football Federation we hope we will overcome the qualifying round.
In this tournament, Vietnam is the host and has the best preparation. Every team that want to be present in Jordan must beat Vietnam,” said head coach Reijners Roger of Myanmar.
While the coach of Iran, Maryam Azmoon, said Iran is the strongest team in Group D, which means it will have to overcome the qualifying round.
The group round matches will continue until April 11.
As scheduled, Vietnam will meet Syria in the opening match on April 5.
The finals, which will be held from April 7 to 22, 2018, will also serve as the Asian qualifiers for the FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019. The five best teams will book their tickets to Paris.
