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REVIEW: WOMEN’S OLYMPIC GAMES QUALIFIERS
Group A
P W D L F A +/- Pts
Vietnam 4 3 0 1 8 4 4 9
Chinese Taipei 4 2 1 1 5 3 2 7
Thailand 4 2 1 1 3 3 0 7
Myanmar 4 2 0 2 8 7 1 6
Jordan 4 0 0 4 1 8 -7 0
14/09/15
Chinese Taipei 1 Vietnam 0
Jordan 0 Myanmar 2
16/09/15
Myanmar 1 Thailand 2
Jordan 0 Chinese Taipei 3
18/09/15
Thailand 1 Jordan 0
Vietnam 4 Myanmar 2
20/09/15
Vietnam 2 Jordan 1
Chinese Taipei 0 Thailand 0
22/09/15
Myanmar 3 Chinese Taipei 1
Thailand 0 Vietnam 2
Vietnam Remain
On The Road To Rio
Vietnam’ secured the remaining
place in the final round of
qualifying for the 2016 Olympic
Games as the 2014 AFC
Women’s Asian Cup hosts
topped the table during the
second round of qualifiers in
Myanmar in September.
On a gripping final day at Mandalay’s Mandalar
Thiri Stadium, three teams remained in the
reckoning with table-toppers Chinese Taipei and
Thailand the favourites to progress, with two-time
ASEAN champions Vietnam a further a point
behind in the standings.
However, a brace from Nguyen Thi Minh
Nguyet saw Vietnam defeat Thailand 2-0 to
leapfrog Nuengrutai Srathongvian’s side into pole
position with Chinese Taipei’s fixture with alreadyeliminated
hosts Myanmar still to come, where a
win would see them return to top spot and secure
their passage to the final round of qualifiers.
Despite Chinese Taipei boasting an undefeated
record in their first three games, Myanmar took
the lead through Khin Moe Wai’s third of the
campaign on 67 minutes before substitute Than
Than Htwe increased the lead 12 minutes later.
And with seven minutes remaining, Vietnam’s
place in the final round was assured when
Chinese Taipei defender Lin Kai Ling scored an
own goal, with Lee Hsiu Chin’s stoppage time
strike a consolation for the East Asians, who
had to settle for second place with Thailand
finishing third.
Vietnam had initially begun their campaign
disappointingly with a 1-0 defeat to Chinese
Taipei, but from then on chalked up consecutive
wins over Myanmar and Jordan before their
crucial victory against Thailand.
And Takashi Norimatsu’s side will join 2012
silver medallists and reigning Asian champions
Japan, Australia, DPR Korea, China and Korea
Republic in the decisive final round in February.
The top two finishers from the final round
of qualifiers will then represent Asia the
2016 Olympic Games looking to follow in
the footsteps of Japan and DPR Korea, who
participated in the 2012 Olympic Games in
London.
AFC QUARTERLY 71