Coach Hoang Van Phuc: Losing 0-3 to China remains a 'very useful match'

Vietnam's women's national team ended their final warm-up match of the recent training camp with a 0-3 loss to China. The scoreline may not fully reflect the effort of the players, but it shows the professional gap with top Asian football nations still exists. However, coach Hoang Van Phuc appeared satisfied with the first-half performance and emphasized the match's value for preparing the squad for the 2026 Asian Games. In the first half, Vietnam played a compact defensive block, maintaining good spacing and limiting China's clear chances. Vietnam also created two counter-attack situations but failed to convert them. The decisive moments came early in the second half: China scored in the 48th and 58th minutes, exposing Vietnam's fatigue and vulnerability in transition. Late in the match, Vietnam had a goal disallowed for offside in the 85th minute, showing their ability to create danger on the counter. Coach Hoang Van Phuc used several substitutions, including Hoang Thi Loan and Duong Thi Van, to test the squad depth ahead of the 2026 Asian Games. Vietnam will enter a group with Japan, Taiwan (China) and Thailand, with the opening match against Taiwan (China) on September 14. The friendly against China served as a valuable test of compact defense and reactive counter-attacking, though it also highlighted clear limitations in physical strength and second-half execution. Moving forward, Vietnam must improve stamina, transition defense, and counter-attacking efficiency to be competitive in the Asian Games.