Why is Huỳnh Như absent from the Vietnam women's national team before the SEA Games?

Forward Huỳnh Như and the players from TPHCM I club are missing from the Vietnam women's national team list this time. The explanation has been disclosed.

On the afternoon of October 18, coach Mai Đức Chung announced the list of 27 players for the Vietnam women's national team gathering to prepare for SEA Games 33, scheduled for December 2025 in Thailand. In this call-up, besides experienced players, the 74-year-old coach also gave opportunities to many young talents such as Trần Nhật Lan, Lưu Hoàng Vân, Tạ Hồng Minh, Vũ Thị Hoa, and Ngọc Minh Chuyên.

However, the list does not include veteran forward Huỳnh Như and prominent players from TPHCM I club like Chương Thị Kiều, Trần Thị Thu Thảo, or Quách Thu Em... Accordingly, the group of players from the current national women's champions will remain with their club to focus on matches in the 2025/26 Asian Women's Club Championship, taking place from November 13-19 at Thống Nhất Stadium. Last year, Huỳnh Như and her teammates made a strong impression by reaching the semi-finals. Therefore, this year the Vietnamese team continues to set high goals for the tournament.

Regarding the Vietnam women's national team, they will assemble on the morning and have their first training session that afternoon (October 21). On November 20, the national team will travel to Japan for training and is expected to play three friendly matches against Japanese women's club teams.

Before the training camp, coach Mai Đức Chung stated: “We all know that other countries invest heavily by naturalizing many athletes rapidly, which creates challenges for us since Vietnamese players are smaller in stature and less physically strong. However, we compensate with spirit, determination, agility, and skill. The national women's team continues to receive strong support from the Vietnam Football Federation leadership to travel abroad for competitions and training, allowing us to compete against stronger opponents to learn and gain experience,” Coach Mai Đức Chung said.

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Without Huỳnh Như, coach Mai Đức Chung calls up 27 players to the Vietnam national team According to the plan, the national women's team will officially gather from October 21 at the Vietnam Youth Football Training Center (Hanoi) to prepare for SEA Games 33, held in Thailand this December. See more