AFC: 'Vietnam can fulfill its dream to attend the World Cup'

As previously reported, the 2023 Women's World Cup finals will be held in Australia and New Zealand. These two countries defeated Colombia to win the right to host the most prestigious football tournament in the world at the national level.

In addition, an equally important change at the 2023 FIFA World Cup women's finals is that FIFA has decided to increase the number of participating teams from 24 to 32. Increasing the number of participants will open up opportunities for many women's team in continents, including the Vietnamese women's team.

Recently, the Asian Football Federation has pointed out teams that are competitive enough for the ticket to attend the 2023 World Cup. Mai Duc Chung’s side can fulfill their dream at the upcoming World Cup.

AFC home page wrote: "They are now the highest-ranked Asian nation to have never played at a FIFA Women’s World Cup as well as Southeast Asia’s premier women’s national team, often getting the better of a Thailand side which has appeared at the past two global Finals.

Considering her side went unbeaten through all of 2019 – winning the AFF Women’s Championship title as well as a SEA Games gold medal – Vietnamese captain Huynh Nhu’s assessment of her side’s progress may be something of an understatement.

The gulf between Vietnam and Asia’s traditional powerhouses also appears, slowly but surely, to be closing.

Vietnam had never scored against Australia prior to their Tokyo 2020 Olympic qualifying playoff in March, and while a 5-0 first leg to defeat in Newcastle was the type of result which had been the norm in previous clashes, Mai Duc Chung’s side did themselves proud in a 2-1 second leg defeat on home soil, with Nhu memorably scoring with a 30-yard lob."

In addition to Vietnam, the Philippines and India are also the two teams mentioned by AFC. However, regarding the recent form, the chances of Mai Duc Chung's army to win tickets to the 2023 World Cup are greater.