UAE brings naturalized players to Phu Tho to play against Vietnam women's team

On the afternoon of June 24, the UAE women's team arrived in Vietnam and traveled to Phu Tho to prepare for the Group E matches of the 2026 Women's Asian Cup qualifiers.

Coach Vera Pauw (right) and her UAE women's team players were excited to be in Phu Tho - Photo: VFF

In Phu Tho, the UAE women's team stayed at the Muong Thanh Luxury Hotel, which is about 3km from the training ground and main stadium of Viet Tri. Despite the long flight, the UAE women's players still showed excitement upon arriving in Phu Tho, and received a warm welcome from the local organizers.

The UAE women's team arrived 3 days earlier than the FIFA standard to have time to get used to the weather conditions and training ground in Phu Tho. This shows the great determination of coach Vera Pauw and her team in competing for a ticket to the Asian finals next year.

The UAE women's team came to Vietnam with a squad of quality players, with the core coming from Abu Dhabi Country Club, the number one team in the UAE Women's National Championship at the moment.

Notably, the UAE women's team this time includes many naturalized players of American origin, such as Elizabeth Forshaw, Mia Lindborg and Ava Steven. This promises to create a difference in the way the West Asian representative plays.

The UAE women's team is currently ranked 113th in the FIFA rankings, second highest among the teams in Group E of the 2026 Women's Asian Cup qualifiers.

Vietnam ranked first with 33rd place, Guam and Maldives ranked 93rd and 159th respectively.

With the addition of naturalized players, UAE makes coach Mai Duc Chung and his team unable to be complacent, because only the team that finishes first in the qualifying round will qualify for the final round.

Over the past few days, the Vietnamese women’s team has been training with an intensity of 1 to 2 sessions per day. The team has 4 days left to prepare before the opening match against Maldives (June 29).

The home team will then play against UAE and Guam on July 2 and 5 respectively.

All matches of the Vietnam women's team take place at Viet Tri Stadium (Phu Tho).

NGOC LE

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/uae-mang-dan-cau-thu-nhap-tich-den-phu-tho-dau-tuyen-nu-viet-nam-20250624204435573.htm