Asian Football Confederation honors Huỳnh Như

Before the 2026 Women's Asian Cup finals, the AFC official site offered high praise for Huỳnh Như, the captain of Vietnam's women's team.

From March 1 to 21, the Vietnam women's national team will compete in the 2026 Asian Cup finals held in Australia. There, coach Mai Đức Chung's squad is placed in Group C alongside India, Chinese Taipei, and Japan.

Prior to the official tournament, the AFC Women's Asian Cup Australia 2026 official page published a post commending captain Huỳnh Như of the Red Shirt team, highlighting her as Vietnam's standout player:

"Huỳnh Như is regarded as one of the greatest players in Vietnamese football history, holding the record as the all-time top scorer for the national team and playing a pivotal role in securing Vietnam's first-ever qualification for the Women's World Cup in 2023," wrote the AFC.

Throughout her professional career, Huỳnh Như has amassed an impressive list of achievements including 5 Vietnamese Women's Golden Ball awards, 7 national championships, and 3 national cup titles with Ho Chi Minh City. At the national team level, she helped secure 4 consecutive gold medals in 2017, 2019, 2021, and 2023, as well as the 2019 AFF Cup title. Notably, she was a key figure for the Red Shirt team at the 2023 World Cup finals.

For the current Asian Cup preparation camp, Huỳnh Như remains among the 28 selected players for Vietnam. From February 7 to 14, 2026, the team will train in China to gain match experience, improve tactics, and aim to perform at their peak in the continental competition.

Vietnam's women's team will face India in their opening match on March 4, 2026. The following two games against Chinese Taipei and Japan are scheduled for March 7 and 10. Coach Mai Đức Chung's squad will play all three matches at Perth Rectangular Stadium.