Encarnacao shines as Portugal beat Vietnam 2-0 for first World Cup win
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[July 27, 2023]
HAMILTON, New Zealand (Reuters) - Portugal's Telma Encarnacao
scored one goal and set up the other in a 2-0 win over fellow
Women's World Cup debutants Vietnam, sending the Southeast Asian
side out of the tournament at Waikato Stadium on Thursday.
Portugal coach Francisco Neto made seven changes to the team that
lost 1-0 to the Netherlands in their Group E opener and the decision
paid off as first-half goals from Encarnacao and Francisca Nazareth
earned them a first ever World Cup win.
Portugal are third in Group E with three points and will face the
U.S. in their final group game in Auckland while Vietnam, yet to
score or pick up a point, take on the Netherlands in Dunedin, with
both matches on Tuesday.
The U.S. are level on four points with the Dutch but top the table
on goal difference after the teams drew 1-1 on Thursday.
In stark contrast to their struggling display against the
Netherlands, Portugal dazzled under the floodlights in Hamilton and
Neto was delighted with the victory even though the scoreline did
not reflect their dominance.
"This is very important and it means a lot for all the players,"
said the Portugal coach, who has been in charge since 2014. "I'm so
happy to be here, to compete. This victory is dedicated to all the
players, past and present.
"The United States will be a completely different game ... Today,
even though we had a victory, there are lots of things we can
improve."
Encarnacao swept Portugal in front after seven minutes with a smart
first-time finish from Lucia Alves' cross before turning provider
for Nazareth, who fired the ball past goalkeeper Tran Thi Kim Thanh
in the 21st minute.
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Soccer Football - FIFA Women's World Cup
Australia and New Zealand 2023 - Group E - Portugal v Vietnam -
Waikato Stadium, Hamilton, New Zealand - July 27, 2023 Portugal's
Jessica Silva celebrates with fans after the match REUTERS/David
Rowland
Only 11 places separate the two teams in the world
rankings, with Portugal sitting higher at 21, but the contest was
one-sided and the Europeans were firmly on top throughout with five
attempts on target in the first half alone.
They could not add more gloss to the result, however, as Kim Thanh,
who helped restrict holders the United States to three goals in
Vietnam's opening defeat, was once again key in ensuring they did
not concede more than two.
Despite Kim Thanh's efforts, Vietnam struggled to create chances and
managed only one shot on target in the match when Nguyen Thi Bich
Thuy drew a save from Patricia Morais just before the break.
"In the first half, I was not satisfied with the team," Vietnam
coach Mai Duc Chung said. "They are 11 ranks higher than us and they
come from Europe so, yes, they are much better than us ... This is a
lesson for us.
"As a coach, I have learnt a lot (from this tournament). "We see our
weaknesses, and we can learn from this."
(Reporting by Hritika Sharma in Hyderabad; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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