Vietnam has given up hope of going through the group stage of the Women's World Cup
Scoring: Encarnacao 7', Nazareth 21'.
The match against Portugal is considered as the biggest opportunity for Vietnam to make a mark at the World Cup, when this is a lighter opponent than the US and the Netherlands in Group E. Vietnam started promising, overflowing early. However, the exciting and risky approach to the match caused Mai Duc Chung's students to soon concede a goal, thereby losing the initiative.
Portugal attended the Women's World Cup for the first time like Vietnam, but the level was outstanding. The European representative is rich in speed, strength and technique. Vietnam does not seem to have properly assessed the opponent's attack ability and pushed the squad up from the beginning. The Southeast Asian representative earned the first corner of the tournament in the third minute, and then escaped defeat twice thanks to the failed shots of Jessica Silva and Kika Nazareth in an empty position. The goal soon came in a double attack. In the 7th minute, Sousa Alves escaped down the right wing, crossed just enough for Encarnacao to rush up to one-touch cushion, defeating goalkeeper Kim Thanh.
Due to the inferior physicality and fitness, the two central midfielders rose again, the defense system of Vietnam was quickly broken when Portugal attacked. In the 21st minute, Vietnam conceded the second goal. After Kim Thanh's kick, Portugal stole the ball and counterattacked. This time, Encarnacao played the role of an assist with a snip for Kika Nazareth to escape to score.
After losing two goals, coach Mai Duc Chung made tactical adjustments, helping the team defend more closely with a deep back formation. Underdog for most of the first half, Vietnam still created some striking counter-attacks at the end of the half. From Huynh Nhu's opening line to the edge, Bich Thuy took the ball and then shot at the edge of the penalty area but was caught by goalkeeper Morais. It was Vietnam's first goal-directed shot at the World Cup playground.
In the second half, the coaching staff asked the team to slow down, be more certain and implement the right tactical intentions. The two defensive midfielders retreated deep, keeping a good position to help Vietnam limit the fast pace of the opponent's play. The heavy pressure as well as the lack of qualifications made Vietnam not create significant counter-attack opportunities.
On the Portuguese side, Jessica Silva did not score or assist but continued to show an important role in the play of the team ranked 21st in the world. Player No. 10 repeatedly handled delicately and improvised, opening opportunities for her teammates and herself. But in the unlucky half, Portugal missed many delicious opportunities, including many face-to-face phases as well as a long shot hitting the crossbar. In the whole match, Portugal finished 27 times, including nine times on goal.
Not receiving any more goals in the second half, but Vietnam also could not score the first goal in the World Cup as the target. Even so, the stats also improved. In total, the team launched five shots, including one on target. In the loss to the US, coach Mai Duc Chung's students could not finish a single time.
With nothing after two matches, Vietnam will definitely be eliminated in the 2023 World Cup. In the last match of the group stage on August 1, the team faced the runner-up in the tournament against the Netherlands. Portugal need to beat the US in the last match to continue. If the US draws, Portugal must expect the Netherlands to lose to Vietnam - which is very unlikely.
