Football­ 

HÀ NỘI  HCM City are ready to reach another milestone in the AFC Women's Champions League when they play Wuhan Jiangda in the semi-final on May 21 in China.

Their appearance in the last-four is already an historic point as they are the first Vietnamese champions to reach that stage following their 5-4 comeback victory against Abu Dhabi Country Club of the UAE in the quarters.

Coach Đoàn Thị Kim Chi brings her 23-strong team to Wuhan determined to reach the final.

Among her players are notable foreigners such as defender Aubrey Goodwill, striker Sabrina Marie Cabrera and midfielders Maria Jamila Khan and Sakura Yoshida, as well as overseas Vietnamese midfielders Ashley Trâm Anh and Nam Mi Nguyễn.

After three days of training and getting familiar with the conditions, coach Chi was pleased with her players' spirit.

"The appearance of foreign and overseas Vietnamese has had a remarkable impact. They quickly integrated with the team and have been a breath of fresh air," Chi said.

"They helped improve the quality of the training, push the determination of local players and played a key role in our new and developing playing style. They will all have to try their best for a place in the first team. Based on their performance and the situations of the match, we will have a suitable plan and pick the best available for the semi-final."

Talking about the hosts, Chi said their strength was proven through their victory over the powerful Urawa Red Diamonds of Japan. And she feels they will be much stronger playing at home.

"However, we are not here just for a walk. We will give our best and hopefully make our supporters happy," Chi said.

Striker Huỳnh Như shared the same opinion.

"We have prepared really well for the match. In the rest time, we will make everything perfect and that will make us confident for a good game," Như said.

Như is one of two Vietnamese players chosen as 'ones to watch' by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

"A legend of women’s football in Việt Nam, Huỳnh Như has seen it all and despite being 33-years-old, is still going strong on both fronts after leading her nation to a maiden FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in 2023 and now has the opportunity to take her club to," the agency noted.

"Forward Như has three goals from the group stage, having grabbed a brace in the 3-1 success against Taichung Blue Whale Women’s Football Team of Chinese Taipei before netting once in the 3-1 win against India’s Odisha FC."

The second one is defender Chương Thị Kiều.

The AFC wrote: "Another one to have played every single minute of the campaign, Chương Thị Kiều is the rock in defence for the Vietnamese side with the central defender often likened to Quế Ngọc Hải (men's team former captain) of the women’s team.

"The 29-year-old is also useful at the other end of the pitch, as proven by her goal in the quarter-final, which helped HCM City claw back from 3-0 down to secure an epic 5-4 victory against Abu Dhabi."

Wuhan Jiangda is one of the strongest clubs in China, dominating the local league for five years. However, the reigning champions have not been at their best this season and currently sit seventh in the table. 

"We dared not take risks in away games, so we relied on discipline, defence and timing. We executed the plan exactly as we needed to," head coach Chang Weiwei said.

AFC also highlighted two Wuhan Jiangda players.

"Forward Tereza Engesha turned out for the Red Angels during the Group Stage before making the move to Wuhan, having scored a brace of goals in each of the matches against UAE’s Abu Dhabi Country Club and Sabah FA of Malaysia," it wrote.

"The 27-year-old forward had already played her part in getting Wuhan to this stage of the competition, helping her new club edge Japan’s Urawa Red Diamonds Ladies on penalties, with her physical strength being a danger for any opposition team."

AFC described captain Yao Wei as the driving force behind Wuhan’s progress, one of the few who played every single minute of the campaign so far.

"The 27-year-old midfielder was one of Wuhan’s scorers in their 7-0 victory over Sabah in the group stage and also showed her steely determination in putting away her spot-kick in the 6-5 shootout success against Urawa," AFC said.

The winner will play either Incheon Red Angles of South Korea or Melbourne City of Australia in the final on May 24.  VNS