India's coach regrets not being able to defeat the Vietnamese team

Coach Mai Duc Chung praised his players' composure after Nguyen Thi Van Su's double helped the Vietnamese team secure a hard-fought 2-1 victory over India in the AFC Women's Asian Cup Australia 2026 Group C match at Perth Rectangular Stadium last night, March 4.

The head coach of the Vietnamese team never doubted his players' determination to win, even after India equalized in the second half.

"Even though we conceded, we controlled the ball for most of both halves," Coach Mai Duc Chung said. "We just couldn't convert that dominance into goals sooner. When they equalized, I still fully believed we would score again, and we did.

"It was a very balanced match between the two teams. We were fortunate to win the opening match, which gives the whole team a huge boost. During the recent break, we focused mainly on training and didn't have many friendly matches, so starting the tournament with a win is very encouraging."

After taking the lead in the first half thanks to Van Su's goal, Vietnam continued to control the game after the break but allowed Sanfida Nongrum to score the equalizer.

Coach Mai Duc Chung said the team drew energy from the enthusiastic support of the fans, which helped them regain momentum and find the winning goal.

"Today's victory is very special, and I thank the fans who came to support the team. Their encouragement gave us extra motivation to keep pushing.

Even after conceding the equalizer, the support from Vietnamese fans lifted our spirits and inspired us to fight until the end. That energy helped us score another goal."

For India, this was a missed opportunity, but head coach Amelia Valverde still highlighted the positives from her team's second-half performance.

"I am very proud of the team," Valverde shared. "The emotions are still a bit mixed because the first 30 minutes weren't our best, and they scored early. However, in the second half, we regained stability and managed to level the match.

"There were moments when I felt we were even playing better than them. We ultimately lost, which is unfortunate, but I am very satisfied with the team's improvement in the second half and how we adapted as the match progressed.

I saw a team that fought hard for 90 minutes. I didn't see anyone showing signs of fatigue, while some opposing players occasionally had fitness issues.

The decisive goal came from our mistake. There is much to learn from this match, especially maintaining focus at key moments. We will take these lessons and continue to improve as we move forward in the tournament."

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