The second successive loss deprived Vietnam of the chance to advance as they settled for bottom place on zero points.
Meanwhile, Porgutal got their first three points to continue fostering hopes of progressing into the round of 16.
Despite both being the newcomers at this year’s World Cup, the Portuguese, ranked 21st in the world by FIFA, proved to be too strong for Vietnam to create a stir.
The European team needed only seven minutes to open the scoring as Telma Encarnacao’s smart finish from 12 yards gave Vietnam keeper Tran Kim Thanh no chance.
Portugal maintained their pressure, with Lucia Alves making a penetrating run forward and attempting to dink the ball over Kim Thanh, but the Vietnam keeper made an excellent save.
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| Vietnam’s Thanh Nha (no. 19) in action during their second group match against Portugal at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. |
Kika Nazareth doubled Portugal’s advantage in the 21st minute by beating Kim Thanh in a one-on-one after taking a through ball from Encarnacao.
The two-goal lead enabled the European representatives to play comfortably as they created a few more chances to score in the remainder of the match. However, Portugal hit the woodwork several times, while some of their attacks were brilliantly blocked by Vietnam keeper Kim Thanh.
Despite making concerted efforts, Mai Duc Chung’s troops could not find the back of the net and succumbed to a 0-2 defeat, which ended their dream of advancing further in the World Cup arena.
Earlier on the same day, the United States and the Netherlands played out a 1-1 draw, taking up Group E’s top-two places on four points each.
Vietnam will play their last World Cup group match against the Netherlands on August 1.
