Vietnamese national team's Xơ Đăng ethnic player aims to score against Japan

Prior to the Asian quarterfinal clash with Japan, Vietnam's U20 women's team midfielder Y Za Lương aims to give her utmost effort and aspires to score a goal to propel the team nearer to the World Cup.

On the afternoon of April 9, Vietnam's U20 women's team resumed training in Thailand to prepare for the quarterfinal match against Japan's U20 women's team in the 2026 AFC U20 Women's Asian Cup. This crucial match will take place at 16:00 on April 11. Under the coaching staff's guidance, the entire team focused on fitness drills, team coordination, and tactical refinement, aiming for the upcoming challenging encounter.

The training atmosphere of Vietnam's U20 women's team remained high as the squad fully understood the difficulty level against a strong opponent. Japan's U20 women's team is considered one of the championship contenders, having won all three group stage matches. Meanwhile, the Vietnamese girls only secured a quarterfinal spot as one of the two best third-placed teams. Nevertheless, Xơ Đăng ethnic midfielder Y Za Lương still holds hope of making an impact with a goal.

Before the training session, Y Za Lương shared about the team's preparation for the big match. She stated: “We will prepare our physical condition very well and follow the tactical and technical requirements set by the coaching staff. Japan's U20 women's team is a very strong squad, but we will try our best.”

According to this young player, the three group stage matches provided valuable experiences for Vietnam's U20 women's team players. Especially when facing high-level opponents like China's U20 women's team or Thailand's U20 women's team, the whole team gained additional experience in tactical organization, match control, and adapting to the pressure of continental competition.

Y Za Lương also admitted she learned a lot from those encounters. She shared: “When competing against strong teams, I learned a great deal. Particularly from their tactics and how they organize their gameplay.” Those experiences are expected to help Vietnam's U20 women's team play more confidently as they enter the knockout stage.

Alongside the team's collective goal, the young-year midfielder also set a personal aspiration for herself in the match against Japan. She emphasized: “My goal is to fight with all my strength and hope I can score a goal to contribute to the team's overall achievement.”

According to the plan, on April 10, Vietnam's U20 women's team will continue training, review the squad, and finalize tactical plans before kick-off. The four winning teams in the quarterfinals will not only advance to the semifinals but also represent Asia in securing spots for the 2026 U20 Women's World Cup finals in Poland next September. For Y Za Lương, the match against Japan thus becomes even more special as she hopes to score and contribute to creating a surprise.