All out for the first goal

Vietnam women's vs Portugal women's prediction, 2023 Women's World Cup group stage, 2:30 p.m. July 27. After a brave opening match against the US team, our girls are increasingly confident for the next challenge.

Nhận định nữ Việt Nam vs nữ Bồ Đào Nha: Hết mình cho bàn thắng đầu tiên

Vietnam women's team players in the opening match of the 2023 Women's World Cup. (Source: VFF)

With 5 days of rest, coach Mai Duc Chung's team has enough time to recover, as well as to make the most careful plans for the match considered the most important of the group stage. This is also the best opportunity for the Vietnamese golden girls to create a surprise.

Vietnam women's team makes strong impression

Right in their first appearance at the World Cup, Huynh Nhu and her teammates encountered the strongest team in history, 4-time champions, with the presence of "living legends" Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe.

Everyone was concerned because 4 years ago, another representative of Southeast Asia, the Thai women's team, lost to the US by 13 goals. So a scenario of a heavy loss for the girls in red was mentioned by many people before the match.

However, contrary to that assessment, the Vietnamese women's team only lost 2 goals in the first half. And in the second half, the US team tried very hard to widen the gap but only scored one more goal.

The world press was also surprised by the way a rookie caused more difficulties than expected against the tournament's number one candidate. And of course, everything has its reasons.

First of all, we must praise the coaching staff and the players for preparing so well mentally for the match.

Even in the first match and against a big opponent, the Vietnamese golden girls were not overwhelmed. The players calmly followed the set tactics, consistent in all lines.

Although we were behind early, there was no sign of confusion or disappointment. Everyone kept their cool, so the US team, even if they wanted to, could not push us to the point of "breaking down" like they did against Thailand and many other weaker teams.

The second thing is how to organize a reasonable defense. Strategist Mai Duc Chung did not choose to defend in the penalty area, but he let his students compete for the ball earlier up front.

This strategy makes it difficult for opponents to develop the ball and requires a lot of passing back and forth. Of course, to do this, it requires players to maintain extremely tight tactical discipline.

In case the opponent has escaped the defensive layer from afar, we do not want to compete for the ball at high altitude anymore, but retreat immediately, quickly consolidating the next defensive layer.

The players cover each other well and minimize the chance of falling into one-on-one situations. Because the speed and technique of the US team is very good.

With such a setup, the defending champion, despite controlling the ball a lot and shooting a lot, was mostly not in the most favorable positions and positions.

According to statistics, despite having 28 shots, the US team's expected goals index was only 4.4.

The number of goals conceded by the Vietnamese team is 3, which means they have prevented 1.4 expected goals. This is thanks to the excellence of goalkeeper Kim Thanh.

Kim Thanh's most obvious mark was defeating veteran striker Alex Morgan on the penalty spot, increasing the fighting spirit of the Vietnamese team, as well as reducing the excitement of the American team's conductor.

In addition, towards the end of the second half, when the opponent increased the use of crosses, our defenders became inferior because they could not match the opponent's strikers in terms of height and pressure. Kim Thanh continuously bravely rushed out to compete and many times punched the ball right next to the opponent's head, saving the danger.

After an encouraging debut, it's time for the entire coaching staff and players to study the opponent in this second match.

Vietnam women's team. (Source: Getty Images)

What does the Portuguese women's team have?

Like Vietnam, this is the first time girls from Southern Europe have participated in the World Cup, along with six other teams: Zambia, Philippines, Morocco, Panama, Haiti and the Republic of Ireland.

Portugal had to overcome Cameroon 2-1 in the intercontinental play-off to officially qualify for New Zealand.

In the past, the Portuguese women's team was not prominent in Europe, but in the past 7 years, they have made clear progress. The proof is that they have started to participate in major tournaments, namely Euro 2017, Euro 2022 and now the World Cup.

On the FIFA rankings, Portugal is ranked 21st, 11 places higher than Vietnam. In the first match against the Netherlands, they lost 0-1.

Portugal were actually outclassed by the tournament’s runners-up, managing just two shots to their opponents’ 12. This is hardly surprising, given that the Netherlands have won seven of their previous eight meetings.

Vietnam is ready to make its mark

It cannot be denied that the Portuguese women's team is still a very strong team and is completely superior to us. In addition, with the defeat in the opening match, they now have to be even more determined to win 3 points, to hope to have a chance to overcome this group of death.

However, compared to the US and the Netherlands, Portugal is still a long way behind and their ranking is closer to Vietnam. Therefore, this is the best chance for us to make a difference.

The 0-1 loss in the opening match also exposed some of Portugal's weaknesses. They did not close their wings well enough, so the Netherlands penetrated them many times, creating attacking situations.

In addition, they often make mistakes when choosing positions to receive crosses. The Netherlands exploited this many times and one of them led to a goal.

Vietnam has been well prepared for the match against Portugal, right from the match against the US. Against the world's number one team, we only focus on defense and do not put much burden on the attacking players.

Huynh Nhu mainly participated in defending from a distance and was then substituted to save energy. In addition, winger Thanh Nha was given a complete rest, in order to save his best for the match against Portugal. Thanh Nha's speed will help with quick attacks and creating breakthroughs.

The key elements of the Vietnamese women's team are now complete, and ready physically and mentally.

Hopefully, veteran coach Mai Duc Chung and his students will have a good match, solid defense, and bold moves to surprise the opponent's defense.

There will be more opportunities than in the opening match. If we take advantage of them, we will have our first goal at the World Cup.

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