Thanh Nha and lessons learned at the 2023 World Cup

Thanh Nha controls the ball in the match against the Portuguese women's team.

During the preparation period for the 2023 World Cup, Thanh Nha was continuously selected to start in important matches against Germany and New Zealand. This winger also brought many positive signals, especially the goal against the second-ranked team in the world .

Since then, Thanh Nha has been expected to shine at the 2023 World Cup. However, in the opening match against the US, she did not play because she was sick for several days. All the pressure and expectations were poured into the match against Portugal because Thanh Nha was named in the starting lineup.

Maybe because of that, Thanh Nha could not show much, if not play poorly. Sofascore rated her performance at only 5.9 points, the lowest in the match.

Vietnam women's team starting lineup against Portugal

Against a stronger opponent, Thanh Nha played somewhat hastily. She actively advanced, focused on attacking but did not create any results. Coach Mai Duc Chung saw this and decided to switch wings, letting Thanh Nha play on the right wing in the second half. However, this plan did not work either.

More importantly, Thanh Nha could not support the defense when she often moved too high. Hoang Thi Loan alone was not enough to defend when Portugal's right wing was too strong. And from a situation that tore our left wing wide, the Portuguese team scored the opening goal.

Coach Mai Duc Chung also pointed out this issue in the post-match press conference. He shared: "In the first half, the midfielder went up high, so his back was exposed, creating conditions for Portugal to attack the right wing a lot, but we could not close it down."

Thanh Nha will mature a lot after the experience at the 2023 Women's World Cup

Thanh Nha's performance against Portugal also gave us a lot to see. Obviously, this winger is good at breaking through and fighting independently.

However, in a match where the Vietnamese women's team needs to coordinate and maintain a more solid rhythm, Thanh Nha is not the right person. She will need to improve a lot in her ability to keep the ball and pass the ball back and forth with her teammates to be able to play well in many different matches and against many different opponents.

Another thing, coach Francisco Neto has prepared carefully to “block” Thanh Nha. Before the match, he confidently shared: “Vietnam will continue to take advantage of fast players to serve the defensive counter-attacking style. We will have to prepare carefully to have a response plan.”

When being “read” by a stronger opponent, it is understandable that Thanh Nha could not shine. The most important thing is that this female midfielder is still young and has a lot of time to improve and improve. From there, she will have enough strength to lead the Vietnamese women’s team to new successes in the future.

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/thanh-nha-va-bai-hoc-kinh-nghiem-o-world-cup-2023-185230727212057842.htm