About 6,650 fans turned out to Waikato Stadium, which has a capacity of 18,009. The crowd was mostly Vietnamese fans, but it was the Portuguese contingent that made all the noise.
Nguyen Thi Bich Thuy was the lone bright spot for Vietnam. The right winger looked threatening the few times the Golden Star Women Warriors found themselves on the attack but couldn’t produce a goal.
KEY MOMENT
In its second Women’s World Cup match, Portugal got its very first Women’s World Cup goal.
It stemmed from a dazzling sequence that moved Portuguese players into the final third of the pitch with time and space. Alves teed up Encarnacao with an inch-perfect cross, and the forward easily delivered the goal.
WHY IT MATTERS
With its first-ever Women’s World Cup win, tournament newcomer Portugal stays in third place in Group E, just a point behind the United States and the Netherlands. To qualify for the round of 16, the Portuguese need a win or a draw, paired with a Netherlands loss, on the final matchday.
Vietnam is out of contention for the knockout rounds, and the Golden Star Women Warriors are still without a goal in their first Women’s World Cup.
IN THEIR OWN WORDS
“This is the most important goal, it was scored in a World Cup. This is history for Portugal. I’m incredibly proud,” said Encarnacao about her goal in the seventh minute.
“From this match, we can see where we are, where our level is,” Vietnam head coach Mai Duc Chung said of evaluating Vietnam’s performance.
WHAT’S NEXT
Portugal plays its next match in Auckland against the reigning world champion and group leader United States.
Vietnam, meanwhile, faces a daunting finish to its first tournament in Dunedin against the Netherlands.
One team could earn its first ever victory in the Women’s World Cup when Portugal and Vietnam meet in Group E.
Odds were stacked against both teams when they landed in the same group as the United States and 2019 runner-up the Netherlands. It’s the first appearance at the World Cup for both Portugal and Vietnam, and both were losers in the opening matches against the two powerhouses.
Portugal’s tournament started with a 1-0 loss to the Dutch and Vietnam dropped a 3-0 match to the Americans. Both teams now have a chance to score their first World Cup goals in the match played in Hamilton, New Zealand, and, perhaps even grab a win.
The loser of this match will likely be eliminated from advancing in the tournament with a game remaining in group play.
“When you come to the World Cup in this situation everything is new — first goal, first game, first winner, first draw, everything is new,” Portugal coach Francisco Neto said. “We worked a lot to give this happiness to the Portuguese people. We felt a lot the support of the Portuguese, and we want to give that to all our supporters so we will try our best.”
Portugal with play without midfielder Fatima Pinto, who is injured.
The Selecao are a decent defensive team and have given up only two goals in their last four matches. The Vietnam match gives Portugal its first shot at a team ranked lower in the world — Portugal is ranked 29th; Vietnam is ranked 32nd — but Neto isn’t overlooking the opponents. He was impressed with how Vietnam played the U.S. in defeat.
“I think the Vietnam team were very brave. They had a great performance against the world champions,” Neto said. “It is the first time that we are playing with a team that is lower than us in the ranking. That does not affect anything — the pressure, or the responsibility of representing our country. None of that changes, depending on your opponent.”
Even though Vietnam was not steamrolled by the United States, its squad did not get a single shot off and were dominated in time of possession as Vietnam controlled the ball just 34% of the game.
Vietnam has not scored in its last three games.
