Football 

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam and Thailand will play each other in a friendly match for U17 female players on April 3 in Hà Nội.

The match is one of activities to celebrate the 50th year of establishing diplomatic relations between two countries (1976-2026).

It is jointly organised by the Việt Nam Football Federation, the Football Association of Thailand, the People's Police Sports Association and the two sides' friendship associations.

“I would like to express my deepest condolences to those Southeast Asian countries, including Thailand, that have suffered damage from the recent earthquake, I wish everyone peace," said coach Okiyama Masahiko of Việt Nam in a press conference on April 2 in Hà Nội.

"This match will be an opportunity to strengthen the football relationship between Thailand and Việt Nam." 

Masahiko only signed a contract to take charge of the team recently and has only been in charge of training his players for about a month.

"Although we have not been together for long, through training, I initially assessed that their abilities. They seriously practise and have their own strengths," Masahiko said about his 24 players.

"The match with Thailand will be an important test for my players. Based on the data of this match, we will come up with a training plan to prepare for the upcoming Asian U17 women's qualifiers and obviously we want a win," he said.

Taking part in the briefing, midfielder Hoàng Thị Giang said Vietnamese players were excited for the game and they were looking forward to this, their first match of the year.

It would be her first time too competing against Thailand and although they did not know much about their rivals, the players would give it their all.

On their side, coach Thidarat Wiwasukhu of Thailand said: “Thai players are lacking experience so this match will help them all develop and will be a first step for the next friendly tournaments.

"The team were not affected by the earthquake and the game has been planned for a long time, so they all still decided to fly to Việt Nam. We will definitely try our best and play in a spirt of fair play and sportsmanship."

The match will be at 3pm at the People's Police Academy and livestreamed on Youtube VFF Channel.

After the match, the two teams will take part in some cultural exchange activities.

Thai Ambassador to Việt Nam Urawadee Sriphiromya, Chairman of the Thailand-Việt Nam Friendship Association Sanan Angubolkul and FAT President Nualphan Lamsam (Madam Pang) will be there to watch the match. 

They will be joined by VFF leaders and Nguyễn Văn Thành, chairman of the Việt Nam-Thailand Friendship Association. VNS