Huynh Nhu and HCMC Women's Club: The 4.25 SC Equation and the Quest for a First Continental Goal

When the draw was opened in Kuala Lumpur, the press room seemed to sink a beat. HCMC Women's Club, Vietnam's sole representative in the 2026-2027 AFC Women's Champions League group stage, was placed in Group B alongside Hwacheon KSPO WFC (South Korea), 4.25 SC (North Korea), and East Bengal (India). No one said it aloud, but I could feel the gulp of Vietnamese women's football people sitting around me. Because among those three names, there is one that carries an entire mysterious and formidable footballing nation: 4.25 SC. Vietnamese women's football has come a long way to be here. But the longest road still lies ahead. And it begins with a question that, for two continental cup seasons, we have never answered: when will HCMC Women's Club score their first goal in a knockout round? Two appearances, two eliminations, and two departures with a zero on the scoreboard. 0-2 against a Japanese opponent in the semi-final of year one, 0-3 against a Chinese opponent in the quarter-final of year two. Those dry numbers, to me, are not just statistics. They are the dents on the backs of girls who ran tirelessly for 90 minutes, the sighs of an entire generation of players yearning to touch something greater. But let us talk about this group as honestly as possible. Hwacheon KSPO WFC, the South Korean champions, are a team organized in the modern East Asian school: high pressing, quick ball circulation, and especially dangerous from set pieces. They have never been in the group stage of this competition, but their inexperience does not mean they are easy prey. On the contrary, the eagerness of a team stepping onto the big stage for the first time can sometimes be more frightening than experience itself. And 4.25 SC? This is the real unknown. In qualifying, they scored 29 goals in 3 matches, conceding just 1. 29 goals, 1 conceded – a goal difference so terrifying that it no longer carries ordinary football meaning, but becomes a declaration of power. I have followed Asian women's football for over two decades, and I can tell you this: North Korean teams never play football as a performance. They play football as survival. Superb fitness, tactical discipline down to the centimeter, and a spirit that never accepts defeat. Naegohyang, another North Korean side, won this competition last year. 4.25 SC comes from the same footballing ecosystem. They do not need to prove anything to anyone, because they know how strong they are. So where does HCMC Women's Club stand in this picture? They are the team with the most continental experience in the group. Three consecutive appearances, two group-stage advances. But that very 'experience' is exposing a paradox: we can go far, but we have never scored against truly strong teams. This is not a matter of luck. This is a matter of class. When opponents press high and contest duels fiercely, our girls tend to drop deep, waiting for counter-attacking chances. But counter-attacks require pace and precision in the final pass – two things we have not done well enough at the continental level. However, I want to talk about something most analyses overlook. The match against East Bengal. India is not a powerhouse of Asian women's football, but East Bengal scored 18 goals and conceded none in qualifying. 18-0. A team that defends well and finishes chances with extreme efficiency. Last year, they also came through qualifying but managed only 3 points in the group stage and were eliminated. That shows they can be beaten, but not easily. The match against East Bengal will decide HCMC Women's Club's fate. Not the match against 4.25 SC, not the match against Hwacheon KSPO. The match against East Bengal. Because if we cannot beat the team rated weakest in the group, then everything else is an illusion. And here is the blind spot I want to address. We often look at the group and think 4.25 SC or Hwacheon KSPO are the most formidable opponents. But in truth, HCMC Women's Club's biggest challenge is not the opposition. It is ourselves. The group stage takes place in November, right after the domestic season ends. The players' fitness will be worn down by a long season. Huynh Nhu, at her age, can no longer run 90 minutes at the intensity she did five years ago. But she remains the most important figure. Not because she will score, but because she is the one who keeps the team's fire burning. When football gets difficult, the experience and composure of those who have been through it are the only things that keep a team standing. I once wrote: 'Football is not read by the scoreline, but by the heartbeat of the hearts in the stands.' And I still believe that. But I also believe that, at the continental level, the scoreline is the only thing remembered. HCMC Women's Club needs a goal. Not to prove anything to anyone, but to free themselves from the shadow of the past. A goal against East Bengal, or even against 4.25 SC, would open a mental door that no tactic can replace. This year's competition format has 12 teams, divided into 3 groups of 4. The top two of each group and the two best third-placed teams advance to the quarter-finals. That means even if HCMC Women's Club finish third, they still have a chance to progress if their goal difference is good enough. This detail matters more than many realize. It turns the East Bengal match into a game not just about points, but about goal difference. A convincing win over East Bengal could be the passport to the quarter-finals even if they lose both other matches. But I do not want to talk about numbers anymore. I want to talk about Huynh Nhu. She has dedicated her entire career to Vietnamese women's football. She has scored the most important goals in the history of the national women's game. And now, at the twilight of her career, she stands before her final chance to do something truly special at the continental level. I do not know if she still has the strength to carry the whole team on her shoulders. But I know that when she steps onto the pitch in India this November, an entire generation of Vietnamese women's football fans will follow her every step. And that, in some way, matters more than the result. 'When the pitch falls silent, we finally hear football's sigh.' I wrote that line during an empty-stadium night during the pandemic. And I recall it now, thinking of HCMC Women's Club. They will play in a foreign land, before stands that may not be full, to fight for a dream many consider too distant. But football has never been a sport of easy things. It is a sport of those who dare to dream, dare to fail, and dare to rise again. The match against East Bengal will be the first. And I believe that if HCMC Women's Club can overcome themselves in that match, they can overcome anything. Because football, at its highest level, is not a battle between two teams. It is a battle between belief and doubt. And I choose to stand on the side of belief.