Vietnam are highly motivated to pick up their first-ever point at the ongoing 2016 Olympics Asian women's football final qualification round in Japan, their coach said ahead of the encounter with the hosts today, March 7.

Vietnamese coach Mai Duc Chung said his players will “do their utmost for the best possible result” in the clash with the Japanese in Osaka at 5:39 pm (Vietnam time).

On Saturday, the Vietnamese women were awarded a shopping trip after a pity 0-1 loss to North Korea due to a last-minute goal a day earlier, so they will enter the Japan game with relaxed spirits, according to the coach.

The Vietnamese are also upbeat about a positive result because Japan have so far failed to prove they are strong contenders at the Osaka event, which is the final round of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) qualifiers for the Rio 2016 women’s football category.

At the tourney ending March 9, Vietnam, Japan, Australia, China, South Korea and North Korea challenge one another for only two tickets to Brazil this summer.

Japan, the runners-up of both the London 2012 Olympics and the 2015 FIFA World Cup, are now at the fifth place in the rankings with only one point, whereas empty-handed Vietnam take the bottom place.

Vietnam lost 0-2 to China in the opener on February 29 before being trounced 0-9 by Australia two days later. On Friday, the Vietnamese women almost earned the very first point when they met North Korea, but a last-gasp goal by Ju Hyo Sim dashed their hope.

The hosts, in the meantime, started the event with a 1-3 defeat against Australia, followed by a 1-1 draw with South Korea and a 1-2 loss to China.

The underperformance of Japan could be attributed to the transition of their lineup, with most veteran players having retired.

But Japan’s coach Norio Sasaki said the match with Vietnam will be a chance for them to keep their spirits up.

With the first ticket to Brazil already grabbed by Australia, who won all of their first three games, the hosts can still secure the other spot if they beat both Vietnam and North Korea in the last two fixtures, while China, with seven points after three matches, lose both.

In the meantime, the Rio ticket is now beyond Vietnam’s reach after the three straight losses.

The 2016 Summer Olympics takes place from August 5 to 21 in Rio de Janeiro, with a 12-team tournament for women’s football, according to FIFA.

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