Huynh Nhu and HCMC Women's Club: A Tough Group, But the Biggest Fear Doesn't Come from Opponents

The opening whistle at a stadium in India this November will not sound like what Vietnamese fans have been waiting for. No sea of red-clad supporters, no familiar chants. Only the unfamiliar green of the pitch, and across the field, teams named Hwacheon KSPO WFC, 4.25 SC, and East Bengal – names that, for most Vietnamese audiences, remain question marks on the map of Asian women's football. But I have followed continental women's football long enough to know that those question marks, when answered, often deliver shocks. And for HCMC Women's Club, making their third consecutive appearance on this continental stage, the question is not whether they have the courage to step onto the pitch. The question is whether they dare to face themselves – the shadow of previous eliminations, the invisible fear that no coach can dispel with a tactical plan. Group B of the AFC Women's Champions League 2026-2027, where HCMC is seeded second, is not a group of death in the literal sense. But it is a group of unknowns. Hwacheon KSPO WFC, the South Korean champions, are newcomers to the group stage, but come from a women's football nation that has established itself among Asia's elite. 4.25 SC, representing North Korea, just scored 29 goals and conceded only 1 in 3 preliminary matches – a statistic that would make any defense wary. And East Bengal, the Indian side, despite being rated lowest in the group, boast a record of 18 goals scored and 0 conceded in qualifying. Three opponents, three styles, three different stories. But they share one thing: none are easy to bully. I remember the first time I sat in my podcast studio in Marseille, after the Vietnamese women's team first qualified for the World Cup. Excitement was everywhere, but I wrote in my notes: "Football in an empty room." Because I knew that regional success does not automatically translate into continental strength. And HCMC's own history is the clearest proof. In their two previous appearances, coach Đoàn Thị Kim Chi's team advanced from the group stage. But in the knockout rounds, they exited with aggregate scores of 0-2 and 0-3. No goals scored. Not once did they find the back of the net. That is not a coincidence. It is a pattern, an invisible boundary this team has never crossed when facing the strongest teams in East Asia. Many will say this year's group is harder. Hwacheon KSPO and 4.25 SC are big challenges. But I believe that view misses a crucial detail: East Bengal is the decisive match. Not because they are the weakest opponent – in fact, their qualifying record shows they are not weak – but because it is the match where HCMC has the highest chance of controlling the game. If they cannot take all three points against East Bengal, their chances of advancing will almost vanish, because history has shown that scoring against Korean or North Korean teams is nearly impossible for a Vietnamese side at this point. Look at the qualifying data. 4.25 SC scored 29 goals in 3 matches, nearly 10 goals per game. That number reflects a high-tempo attacking style, aggressive pressing, and varied finishing. They may lack group-stage experience, but they come from a North Korean women's football ecosystem that produced last year's champions – Naegohyang. It is a football culture built on discipline, fitness, and tactical organization. Such an opponent will never give you space to breathe, let alone to score. But I am not writing this to predict a disaster. I am writing to point out something I believe is more important: HCMC's biggest fear does not come from Hwacheon KSPO or 4.25 SC. It comes from the shadow of their own past. When you have lost 0-2 and 0-3 in knockout rounds, when you have left the tournament twice without scoring a single goal, the psychological pressure weighs heavier than any tactical pressure from opponents. Applause in an empty stadium is the echo of fear, not of joy. I witnessed this at the 2026 World Cup in Qatar, when Messi and Argentina went through a breathless final. The stands were not empty, but in the moment Mbappé equalized at 3-3, silence enveloped part of the Lusail Stadium like an admission that even the best sometimes tremble. Football is not just numbers, not just tactics. It is the story of how people face their own fear. And for HCMC, that story will be written in India this November. I could be wrong. Maybe Huỳnh Như, at 35, will have a brilliant final tournament of her career. Maybe 4.25 SC's defense will show weaknesses nobody saw in qualifying. Maybe Hwacheon KSPO will be overwhelmed by the pressure of a big stage. Football always has surprises, and that is why we love this sport. But if I had to bet, I would bet on a different scenario. I would bet that HCMC will play their opening match with a caution bordering on fear. They will drop points against East Bengal. And then, facing Hwacheon KSPO, they will again play with excessive respect, only to leave empty-handed once more. And then, people will again talk about the gap in class. They will again talk about how Vietnamese women's football needs more investment. They will again search for reasons to explain a result that was predetermined long ago. But I will not be surprised. Because I have seen too many teams trapped in their own shadow. And I know that to escape that shadow, you do not need a tactical revolution, you do not need a blockbuster signing. You need only one thing: the belief that you can do it. And that belief, I have not seen in HCMC in their previous exits. I hope I am wrong. I hope Huỳnh Như and her teammates will prove that I have looked at them through the eyes of a demanding pessimist. I hope that, one day in November, I will have to write a different article, with a completely different headline. But until then, I will hold my position: this group is not HCMC's biggest challenge. The biggest challenge is whether they dare to believe they can overcome themselves. And the answer, I fear, was written a long time ago.