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Vietnam women football ready for Rio 2016 qualification

Xinhua, September 12, 2015 Adjust font size:

The Vietnam women's football team left for Myanmar on Friday to prepare for the second qualifying round of the Women's Olympic Football Tournament, Rio 2016, local newspaper Vietnam News reported.

Thailand, Myanmar, Jordan and Chinese Taipei join Vietnam in this qualifying round, with the winner moving on the next stage. "I think that Thailand and Myanmar will be Vietnam's toughest rivals," said Vietnam's Japanese head coach Norimatsu Takashi.

Vietnam held a two-week training camp in Japan in preparation for the tournament. According to Takashi, the Vietnamese team's physical strength has been improved. Takashi was worried that Myanmar's weather will impact Vietnam's performance.

Vietnam will play Chinese Taipei on September 14, Myanmar on September 18, Jordan on September 20 and Thailand on September 22. "The first match with Chinese Taipei is very important. We need a win," said Takashi.

Jordan, Chinese Taipei and Myanmar qualified after topping their groups in the first round, while the teams ranked sixth and seventh in Asia, Thailand and Vietnam respectively, automatically qualified for round 2.

Teams ranked in the top five, Japan (1st), Australia (2nd), the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (3rd), China (4th) and South Korea (5th), automatically enter the final qualification round where they will be joined by the winner from round 2.

The top two finishers from the final qualification round will represent Asia at the Summer Olympics women's football tournament. Endi