The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has selected striker Nguyen Thi Thanh Nha of the Vietnamese women's team as one of six young Asian stars who could have a breakout tournament.
Nha stood out at the friendly match with Germany in preparation for the World Cup.
“Vietnam’s preparations for the 2023 World Cup saw them take on World No 2 Germany in a friendly last month. The well-organised Southeast Asians, despite going down 2-1, put on an impressive showing against the formidable opponents and it was Nha who scored their only goal of that game,” the website the-afc.com said.
“Nha has been touted as the next big thing in Vietnamese football and was part of the squad as the country qualified for their first-ever World Cup ahead of Thailand and Chinese Taipei. She was also on target as Vietnam defeated Myanmar 2-0 to win gold in the Southeast Asian Games earlier this year,” the website added.
“Having recently scored against one of the giants of women’s football, the 21-year-old striker will be keen to replicate her performance at the World Cup where Vietnam are drawn in a tough group featuring two-time defending champions the United States as well as the Netherlands and Portugal.”
In addition to Nha, in this list, there is another player of Southeast Asian football, that is Isabella Flanigan of the Philippines. Flanigan, 18, is a good choice in attack line next to seniors like Sarina Bolden and Katrina Guillou. She was trained in the US and possesses formidable speed.
The remaining four names selected by the AFC include: 16-year-old Casey Phair of the Republic of Korea; Aoba Fujino, 19, of Japan; Shen Mengyu, 21, of China; and Mary Fowler, 20 of Australia.
