In the second match of Group E of the 2023 Women's Soccer World Cup on the afternoon of July 27, the Vietnamese women's team lost to Portugal 7-0. Telma Encarncao and Kika Nazareth were the scorers to bring the victory for Portugal.
With the determination to find a positive result against Portugal, the Vietnamese women's team played with the strongest squad with the return of midfielders Duong Thi Van and Nguyen Thi Thanh Nha. Meanwhile, the Portuguese team has 7 changes compared to the previous match.
Nguyen Thi Thanh Nha (right) and her teammates competed with great effort. Photo: Reuters
Unlike the previous match, the Vietnamese girls raised their offensive lineup from the very beginning. However, the Portuguese team quickly created 2 dangerous approaches to the goal of Jessica Silva and Francisca Nazareth.
In the 7th minute, from the attack on the right wing, Lucia Alves passed to Telma Encarncao to cushion the ball close to the wall, making the net of goalkeeper Kim Thanh, opening the score 1-0.
After excellently saving with a save in the situation facing Lucia Alves, goalkeeper Kim Thanh once again conceded a goal. In the 21st minute, Encarnacao poked a gap just enough for Kika Nazareth to get down to finish, making the score 2-0.
Kika Nazareth (20) celebrates the goal to make it 2-0. Photo: Daily Mail
Leading 2-0, but the Vietnamese female players were not broken, still very calmly stabilized the squad. Even in the last minutes of the first half, the Vietnamese team had a few sharp steps on the ball, but did not create clear opportunities. In the 43rd minute, Huynh Nhu opened the ball to the edge for Bich Thuy to ice down, handle the ball and finish, but Bich Thuy's shot could not bring down goalkeeper Morais.
Entering the second half, the Vietnamese women's team defended more closely and waited for an opportunity to counterattack. Meanwhile, the Portuguese women's team continues to deploy many attacks.
The Portuguese women's team has a lot of attacking options, from long range to finishing in the penalty area. However, the shots of Marchao, Jessica, Telma, Jacinto, Nazareth were either blocked by goalkeeper Kim Thanh or inaccurate. 2-0 is the final score of the match.
Losing the match 0-2, the Vietnamese women's team had no chance to continue, but the offensive line played better. This will be the motivation for the Vietnamese women's team to raise their hopes of getting the first World Cup goal in the final match of Group E against the Netherlands.
In the last match, the Vietnamese women's team met the Netherlands (4 points) at 14pm on August 1, while Portugal (8 points) met the US (3 points) in the match at the same time.
Van Tung
