Coach Mai Duc Chung: 'Overseas Vietnamese player Nam Mi is not qualified'

Mr. Mai Duc Chung - Head coach of the Vietnamese women's team - explained the decision to remove Vietnamese-American midfielder Nguyen Hoang Nam Mi from the list of players in the 2026 Women's Asian Cup qualifiers.

Coach Mai Duc Chung at the press conference in Phu Tho - Photo: NGOC LE

Answering Tuoi Tre Online 's question at the press conference on the afternoon of June 28, Coach Mai Duc Chung said: "We have always wanted overseas Vietnamese players to contribute to the national team. But the requirement is that the players must be suitable and meet professional requirements.

We are happy to have Nam Mi and have openly accepted her from Ho Chi Minh City Club through training sessions. However, through the training sessions, she has not been able to meet the professional requirements of the Vietnam women's team."

Nguyen Hoang Nam Mi was born in 2003 to Vietnamese parents and grew up in a Canadian soccer environment. She stayed with the Vietnamese women's team through two domestic training sessions and a training trip to Japan in June. She was expected to bring a breath of fresh air to the team, but was eventually eliminated.

On June 29, the Vietnamese women's team will play the opening match of Group E of the 2026 Women's Asian Cup qualifiers (Asian Women's Championship) against Maldives at Viet Tri Stadium.

From left to right are the head coaches of Maldives, Vietnam, UAE and Guam - Photo: NGOC LE

The shortlist for the Vietnamese women’s team is largely made up of familiar faces such as Huynh Nhu, Pham Hai Yen, Chuong Thi Kieu and Tran Thi Kim Thanh. Coach Mai Duc Chung disagrees with the opinion that he is a perfectionist and fails to find new faces.

"If you look closely, you will see that in this list, I have given opportunities to new players like striker Ngoc Minh Chuyen or goalkeeper Quach Thu Em. Striker Nguyen Thi Hoa can also be considered a new factor of the team. Although she has participated a few times in previous tournaments, she has not played much," said coach Mai Duc Chung.

In Group E, the Vietnamese women's team will face Maldives, UAE and Guam. Like coach Mai Duc Chung's team, the UAE women's team will compete in the qualifying round with 100% local players.

UAE women's team head coach Vera Pauw said: "We brought naturalized players with us to Vietnam. However, I did not include their names in the shortlist because I wanted to focus on developing domestic resources, and partly because of culture. Local players are capable of competing in international competitions and they will be the future of UAE women's football."

Head coaches Kim Sherman of the Guam women's team and Mohamed Athif of the Maldives both see the qualifiers as a good opportunity to gain experience and gain experience for their players.

"We will try our best to see how far our team can go," the two coaches of Guam and Maldives shared.

NGOC LE

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/hlv-mai-duc-chung-cau-thu-viet-kieu-nam-mi-khong-dat-chuyen-mon-20250628114942964.htm