Midfielder Thai Thi Thao: From futsal courts to scoring a hat-trick for Vietnam’s women's national team

Midfielder Thai Thi Thao scored a hat-trick for Vietnam’s women’s national team in their opening matchSEA Games 33. Few realize that her first SEA Games experience did not take place with the 11-a-side women’s football team.

At SEA Games 29 in Malaysia, Thai Thi Thao was a member of Vietnam’s women’s futsal team and won a historic silver medal.

"In 2017, both Thao and I were called up to the futsal national team. But only Thao was selected for the SEA Games. She is skillful, physically strong, and good at ball shielding, so the coaches trusted her.

After that SEA Games, Thao was called up to the 11-a-side team and has stayed with it ever since," midfielder Bien Thi Hang (Hanoi Club) shared about her fellow Nghệ An native. In 2018, when some key players of the Vietnam women’s team got injured, coach Mai Duc Chung had to find new players. Thai Thi Thao immediately earned a starting position at the 2018 AFF Cup and 2018 ASIAD.

Returning SEA Games 33, Thai Thi Thao’s hat-trick against Malaysia surprised both experts and fans. Notably, the 30-year-old (born 1995) had just recovered from anterior cruciate ligament tears in both legs. "I must say I was very surprised by Thao. She had just come back from serious injuries, torn ACLs in both knees.

I also had similar injuries, so I understand that feeling. Usually, when players return, they are very cautious in tackles. But Thao was different; she made sharp runs cutting inside, turned quickly to shoot, and headed with great decisiveness, almost like a male player," remarked former striker Nguyen Thi Minh Nguyet.