Women’s World Cup: Vietnam Clash is a Must Win for Portugal…

Portugal vs Vietnam

…and equally you could say the Portugal game is a must-win for Vietnam. When the two Group E teams meet at the Waikato Stadium on Thursday a draw is not good for either of them, as they are each one match into the Women’s World Cup and are yet to get off the mark. 

The Portuguese lost their opener to the Netherlands by the only goal of the game; it was a match we billed, here at SBOTOP, as a battle for second place and now Francisco Neto’s side is really up against it. Meanwhile Vietnam lost 3-0 to the USA in their first game and so anything other than a victory in Hamilton will see them head for the airport rather earlier than they had hoped.

Talking Points

Fortune favours the brave

Portugal’s opener against the Netherlands turned out to be a really tight affair, decided by a 13^th minute goal headed home by Stefanie van der Gragt. But Neto’s team was disappointingly timid, registering their first shot on target on 82 minutes, and that after going behind so early in the game.

This time they must take the game to the Vietnamese and offer more in front of goal than they did against the Oranje. Winger Jessica Silva was Portugal’s standout player, and with 14 goals from 100 international matches she has all the experience she needs. Silva showed some glimpses of her ability in the opener and is the best bet to make the big Portugal vs Vietnam highlights in this second game, while Maritimo forward Telma Encarnacao showed she can be lively in the final third too. 

Keeper Ines Pereira put in a fine performance as the Netherlands threatened, particularly from set pieces, but she will hope for a quieter game against Vietnam and a good view of her team attacking!

Vietnam may be hard to break down

They had a decent share of possession against USA, at around 34 per cent, but Vietnam failed to register a single shot on goal, though a three goal loss, on balance, wasn’t a disastrous result. The USA are aiming for a third consecutive World Cup triumph and they will hand out bigger beatings than this on their way. Vietnam hardly made it out of their own half against the Stars and Stripes but they put in a brave performance against the Americans. Keeper Tran Thi Kim Thanh was heroic throughout as USA rained 27 shots down on her goal and she won’t shy away when Portugal inevitably get on the front foot.

Head coach Mai Dic Chung epitomises the humility of the team, saying: “We don’t set high ambitions but during this tournament we can learn a lot. It’s a chance for us to compete with very good opponents and we can learn from their experience, skills and techniques. We also have to be mentally strong. We will respect all the competitors, but we are not scared.” 

With 67 goals in 104 international appearances, 31 year old striker Huynh Nhu has the best chance of a Vietnam goal. She is the captain and the only player who works outside Vietnam, scoring seven goals for Portuguese side Lank last season. The five times Vietnam Golden Ball winner has impressed in Portugal and will know many of her opponents on Thursday, who have seen her dribbling skills as shooting ability many times.

History

Portugal are at the World Cup for the first time but have reached the European Championships twice, in 2017 and 2022. But they have been around a little longer than Vietnam, who have witnessed a rapid growth over the past ten years or so. They are four times South East Asian Games champions and they arrived in New Zealand after winning a play-off series, beating both Taiwan and Thailand.

Portugal have won three, drawn two and lost three matches in 2023 while Vietnam have won six and drawn five. The Vietnamese showed just how resilient they can be, losing narrowly by a 2-1 score line in a friendly with Germany, but were then hammered 9-0 by Spain.    

Betting Tip

There isn’t a huge gap between these two teams in the FIFA Women’s World Rankings, with Portugal at 21^st and Vietnam up to 32^nd so this could be a good contest, with Portugal needing all their experience to break a brave Vietnam team down. But the Portugal vs Vietnam betting odds can only see one winner with odds of around 1.20, while Vietnam can be backed at 20.00.

So I’m going for the goals market and predicting a good night for Portugal.  

 

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