Coach Hoàng Văn Phúc identifies the main rivals of the Vietnam women's football team at the 2026 Asian Games

Coach Hoàng Văn Phúc carried out a detailed analysis of the Vietnam women's football team's group at the 2026 Asian Games, pinpointing Chinese Taipei and Thailand as the key rivals for the Vietnamese squad. He further disclosed the strategy to achieve the goal of progressing beyond the group phase.

Coach Hoàng Văn Phúc clearly identified the two opponents that the Vietnam women's football team must particularly focus on at the 2026 Asian Games. The coach believes that the matches against the Chinese Taipei and Thailand women's teams are the ones that will decisively determine the chances of advancing for the Golden Star Warriors.

The Vietnam women's football team is placed in Group A of the 2026 Asian Games alongside Japan, Chinese Taipei, and Thailand. This is considered a challenging group as all three opponents possess their own strengths.

Among them, the Japan women's football team is rated at a significantly higher level. Coach Hoàng Văn Phúc admitted that the representatives from the land of the cherry blossoms are currently one of the leading powerhouses in Asian women's football: "Japan is already the number one powerhouse in Asia, specifically earlier this year they won the Asian Women's Football Cup."

Therefore, instead of aiming to directly compete with the Japan women's team, the Vietnamese coaching staff is focusing more on the remaining two opponents. The Chinese Taipei women's team is a particularly noteworthy name. According to Coach Hoàng Văn Phúc, this team is progressing rapidly and is no longer an easy opponent to defeat.

Notably, the Vietnam women's team suffered a defeat against Chinese Taipei at the Asian Women's Cup last March. Despite creating a decent game, the Golden Star Warriors still lost with a score of 0-1. Therefore, the clash at the 2026 Asian Games is not only significant for points but also an opportunity for the Vietnam women's team to settle an old score.

Meanwhile, the Thailand women's team is considered a rival on par with Vietnam, according to Coach Hoàng Văn Phúc's assessment. Consequently, the coaching staff is proactively building a plan centered around the two matches against the Thailand and Chinese Taipei women's teams.

In terms of tactics, the Vietnam women's team will not be confined to a single style of play. The coaching staff has prepared multiple strategies based on the characteristics of each opponent: "There will be times when we press, times when we control possession, and times when we defend and counterattack."

Coach Hoàng Văn Phúc also highly praised the training spirit of his players and expects the whole team to continue absorbing the tactical requirements well in the coming time.

The 2026 Asian Games promises to be a major challenge for the Vietnam women's football team. The Japan women's team may be the highest mountain in Group A, but Chinese Taipei and Thailand are the two decisive battles that Coach Hoàng Văn Phúc and his players need to specifically strategize for if they want to secure the right to advance to the next round.