Futsal

HÀ NỘI — The Vietnamese women's futsal team has made history by entering the world's Top 10 in the 25th edition of the Futsal Awards, as announced by Futsalplanet, one of the most prestigious futsal websites.

Việt Nam now stand alongside elite teams such as Brazil, Iran, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Uzbekistan, Finland and New Zealand. This marks the first time a Vietnamese futsal team has achieved this recognition at the annual awards organised by Futsalplanet.

The nomination of the Vietnamese women's national futsal team is a result of their outstanding performances in 2024.

They clinched the 2024 ASEAN Women’s Futsal Championships, which concluded on November 21 in the Philippines, by defeating Thailand 2-1 in the final. This victory followed their championship title in September at an international friendly tournament in Thailand. Additionally, the team secured second place at the International Women's Futsal Tournament Lanzhou 2024, which wrapped up on July 15 in China.

Head coach Nguyễn Đình Hoàng has also been recognised by Futsalplanet, being named among the Top 10 'Best Women's Futsal Team Coaches in 2024'. In December 2024, both the Vietnamese women's futsal team and coach Hoàng were honoured as outstanding athletes and coaches in Vietnamese sports.

Under Hoàng's leadership, the women's futsal squad have resumed training in preparation for the qualifiers for the 2025 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women's Futsal Asian Cup, scheduled for mid-January.

According to the draw results, Việt Nam will compete in the same group as Macau (China), Taiwan (China) and hosts Myanmar. The team will face Myanmar on January 15, Macau on January 17, and Taiwan on January 19, 2025.

"After our success in previous tournaments, our opponents will be more cautious and will analyse the Vietnamese team closely. Thus, the upcoming tournament is expected to be challenging. Coaching staff and the entire team are committed to developing a detailed plan for the next tournament. I believe the Vietnamese team will advance past the qualifiers to secure a place in the final round," Hoàng said. VNS