Vietnam national women’s football team to get 1st class Labor Order

Key players Chuong Thi Kieu, Huynh Nhu and Nguyen Thi Tuyet Dung will be awarded the second class Labor Order, while Thai Thi Thao, Nguyen Thi Bich Thuy, Tran Thi Kim Thanh and Pham Hai Yen receive the third class Labor Order.

Labor Order is an award given to individuals or collectives that had excellent achievements in a particular field or made significant national contribution. There are three levels of Labor Order awards. The third class has one star, the second has two and the first class three.

Also on Wednesday, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh also gave certificates of merit to 29 members of the Vietnam national women’s football team for their excellent performance at 2022 Women’s Asian Cup in India and 2023 Women’s World Cup playoffs, with Vietnam having secured tournament qualification for the first time in history.

Vietnam’s journey to the World Cup has been a special one. Before competing at Women’s Asian Cup 2022 (another World Cup qualifier), many players on the team got Covid-19 during a training trip to Spain.

With a fragile squad, Vietnam lost to South Korea and Japan, but managed to draw against Myanmar in the group stage and advanced as one of the best third-placed teams. In the quarterfinals, the team lost 1-3 to China and entered the World Cup playoffs, where they beat Thailand and Taiwan to qualify for the world’s top tournament for the first time ever.