AFC Women's Champions League 2026-27 Rival Watch - Ho Chi Minh City
East Bengal Women to face the Vietnamese side at Kishore Bharati Krirangan on 1st November, 2026.
East Bengal women are set to begin their 2026-27 AFC Women’s Champions League campaign when they face off against Vietnamese heavyweights Ho Chi Minh City WFC in their opening game on Sunday, 1 November (2026).
It will be the beginning of a strenuous week for the Torchbearers, who will need to play three games in the space of one week as part of the group stage format.
However, their utmost focus initially needs to be on getting the better of the Ho Chi Minh City WFC players in their opening match. On the Vietnamese side, they are facing a team that is the most successful team in Vietnamese women’s football history and a side that has been holding its own in women’s football in the country for nearly three decades now.
Ho Chi Minh City is filled with players from the Vietnam women’s national team, and they are definitely going to give their all to get past the group stages of the AFC Women’s Champions League.
Here, we look into more of what can be expected from the Vietnamese heavyweights.
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About the Team
The Ho Chi Minh City WFC side was formed back in 1998 and has been a dominant force in the women’s football scene in the country ever since. They have been playing in the Vietnamese Women’s League since its first season (in 1998) and have been an utterly dominant force in the division as well.
The Ho Chi Minh City side has won the Vietnamese Women’s National League Title on 15 occasions since 2002. They have won every single of the league title since 2020 (seven titles in a row) and have also been able to Vietnamese Women’s National Cup title five times since 2020.
The Ho Chi Minh City WFC players have their share of history in the continental scene as well. The first time they reached the AFC Women’s Champions League was in the 2024-25 season, when they went all the way to the semi-final – even defeating Odisha WFC in the group stages. They reached the quarterfinals of the Women’s Champions League last season and are determined to break their jinx and win the competition this time around.
Head Coach
The Ho Chi Minh City side has been able to maintain impressive stability when it comes to its head coach position, which is occupied by Vietnamese legend Doan Thi Kim Chi.
The 47-year-old coach had a pretty memorable playing career with Vietnam as well, winning four gold medals in the Southeast Asian Games and even enjoying a lot of success with the Ho Chi Minh City WFC side – even winning the Vietnamese Women’s Golden Ball award on four occasions!
Since retiring, she has transitioned into an effective head coach and has been instrumental in the Ho Chi Min City WFC’s dominance since 2015. Under the management of Kim Chi, the Vietnamese side has won the Vietnamese National Women’s League title on 10 times, as well as the National Cup five times as well.
Having learned most of her traits as a football coach by studying modern football tactics all by herself, Doan Thi Kim Chi has become an influential figure at the club. She has proven herself as an excellent player-manager, being able to motivate her players with ease and charge them up to produce high-octane performances for her.
She tends to go with a normally balanced approach, urging her players to keep a solid defensive shape and goad the opponents to come forward in numbers to allow her players to create chances through rapid counter-attacking moves.
The 47-year-old will urge them to play effective attacking football in the AFC Women’s Champions League and get compelling wins to go deep into the tournament.
Players to Watchout
Huynh Nhur
The Ho Chi Minh City WFC side is the home of the legendary Hunyh Nhur, who is the all-time leading goal-scorer in the history of the Vietnamese women’s national team. She has scored 70 goals for Vietnam in international football and has managed to earn a reputation of being a goal machine in the domestic scene as well.
Indeed, the 34-year-old has scored well over 100 goals for Ho Chi Minh City in her 15+ years with them, winning the Vietnamese Golden Ball award on five occasions as well.
Apart from a short stint at Portuguese club Lank FC Vilverdense in 2022, Nhur has been totally committed to the Ho Chi Minh City WFC team throughout her career. She is still going strong at her age and will look to be a thorn in their frontline in the AFC Women’s Champions League matches.
The 34-year-old will look to use her experience to dupe defenders using her clever off-the-ball movement and excellent positioning to get into all the danger zones and finish off chances to guide her side to inspiring wins.
K’Thua
K’Thua is definitely a unique asset for the Ho Chi Minh City WFC side because of the kind of tricky winger that she can be for them. The 23-year-old has been playing in the Ho Chi Minh City set-up-all throughout her career, even coming up through their reserves team and doing well for them since 2024.
The blistering young winger loves playing free-flowing, skilful football and is also a player for the Vietnamese women’s futsal team! She is the kind of player who loves taking on defenders, outwitting them with fancy flicks and tricks and elevating the overall excitement levels of the match.
She will look to be a thorn for the East Bengal defenders in their upcoming clash, knowing how her unique style is difficult to predict.
K’Thua will look to have fun with her movement, but she also needs to be decisive with her final product to elevate Ho Chi Minh City WFC’s overall attacking threat and guide them to big wins in the group stages.
What to Expect
Ho Chi Minh City’s impressive performances in the AFC Women’s Champions League over the last two editions mean they’re definitely favorites to win their group in this upcoming edition. The sheer experience levels of their players and the kind of depth they have in most areas make them a harrowing threat for opponents, as they’ll look to start the group in blistering fashion.
The Ho Chi Minh City players will prioritise playing thrilling attacking football, but they have a very balanced and pragmatic style that should ensure they don’t take the East Bengal women’s threat lightly. They will treat the Indian side with respect but also look to continue playing high-paced, intense attacking football to trouble them.
Because of the unity in their squad and how good their chemistry is, Ho Chi Minh City will look to use the element of surprise to their advantage to torment opponents in the continental competition. They should look to play unpredictable attacking football, making it difficult for East Bengal or any other side in the group to keep them quiet.
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