AUCKLAND, New Zealand -- Huynh Nhu started playing soccer with a coconut-like fruit for a ball as a child. Now a member of Vietnam's national team, she will captain her squad in a daunting opening match against the United States in the Women's World Cup.
The match will mark a milestone for Vietnam soccer, which is making its World Cup debut. A Vietnamese national team has never played in the men's or women's tournament.
Just making the field was an accomplishment. But now Vietnam, the 32nd-ranked women’s team in the world, faces the two-time defending tournament champions in its debut.
On paper, it seems like an incredible mismatch. Even so, Vietnamese coach Mai Duc Chung is determined to show what Vietnam can do on the global stage.
“We came here not just for tourism. We are here to play,” Mai said Friday. “The U.S. is a very, very strong team. It is like a mountain, but it doesn’t mean that we will give up. We will have very suitable tactics so that we can minimize the conceded goals.”
Vietnam qualified for the tournament through last year’s Women’s Asian Cup. The Vietnamese were knocked out in the quarterfinals by China, putting them into a round-robin playoff. They then defeated Thailand and Taiwan. Both opponents were struggling with COVID-19 issues at the time.
“We will try our best so that we can bring the image of Vietnam to the world,” Mai said. “I hope that this journey will be an inspiration for the development of Vietnamese football in the future.”
Southeast Asian soccer, especially women’s soccer, is underdeveloped compared to global powers in the sport. Vietnam's first women’s national team was formed in 1997 and Huynh is the only player who competes outside the country. She plays for Länk FC Vilaverdense in Portugal’s top soccer league.
Prior to the start of the tournament, FIFA president Gianni Infantino said each player participating in the Women's World Cup will walk away with at least $30,000 in prize money –- a bonus in developed nations but a windfall for players from countries such as Vietnam.
But then Infantino this week said he couldn’t guarantee that the member federations will distribute the payments. He said he’s still working with the federations to make that happen.
The Vietnam women’s national team members can make around $850 a month, or $10,200 a year, a ccording to the New York Times,
“We received attention from the government, from the ministry of sports and from relevant agencies,” Huynh said. “The living standards have been improved. We received the support of FIFA, so it will improve the conditions for the Vietnamese players. The amount is not small for us, particularly for the women’s players.”
Despite the increase in attention and pay, the Vietnam players are trying to treat their opening match as a normal match, with the intention of bringing pride to their home country.
“I do hope that this tournament here is endless inspiration for the children of Vietnam, for the people of Vietnam,” Huynh said.
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Zach Allen is a student in the John Curley Center for Sports Journalism at Penn State.
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AP Women’s World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-womens-world-cup and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports