AUCKLAND, New Zealand — Vietnam's arduous journey to its first World Cup traversed everything from regional rivals to patriarchal norms. It began decades ago, but decades after the American War — because for years after reunification, the country unofficially banned women from playing soccer. So the journey officially commenced in 1997, with the women's national team in oversized men's jerseys and without financial support. Over the quarter-century that followed, it has been a wild ride.
And whereas U.S. players grew up touring plush fields with elaborate equipment, “when I started playing football, it was not a ball, it was a coconut,” Nhu said Friday. “Or a papaya.”
“But now, I am playing on the greatest stage in the world,” she said at a news conference filled with smiles. “It is like a fairytale for me.” She and her teammates have traveled a long way to that stage. “Our life in the past was very, very difficult,” Mai said. “We never had the chance to play with the leading team in the world.” Now that they do, “we have many things to learn,” he said. “We are here to learn from all the teams in the world.”They are beaming, touring Eden Park, posing for awestruck pictures, but “we come here not just for tourism,” Mai clarified. “We are here to play.
U.S. players and coaches expect them to be"organized" and tenacious. A 6-0 drubbing is possible, if not probable, but a 13-0 repeat seems unlikely."We witnessed the [Thailand] fiasco," ."Thailand suffered such a big loss, they just kind of fell backward, and their fighting spirit is no longer there. No matter what happens against the United States and other powers, we will keep fighting."But do they think they can“I mean, if we can win, that is wonderful,” he said. “We don’t refuse that.”
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