Portugal 2-0 Vietnam: Portuguese claim first World Cup win

Portugal registered their first ever Women’s World Cup win as they defeated fellow debutants Vietnam 2-0 in Hamilton.

Telma Encarnacao gave the Portuguese the lead with a seventh-minute finish and Francisca Nazareth doubled the advantage 14 minutes later.

They proved the only goals, despite Francisco Neto’s team having numerous further attempts, with Joana Marchao going closest with two efforts that hit the bar in the second half.

Moving to three points puts Portugal one behind top two the United States and the Netherlands in Group E.

Portugal face defending champions the US in their final pool match in Auckland, while Vietnam’s campaign is confirmed as ending at the group stage after two defeats.

Portugal’s starting line-up showed seven changes from their 1-0 loss to the Dutch and those who had come in looked eager to make an impression as Neto’s side quickly took a grip on proceedings.

One of them, Nazareth, turned in the box in the fifth minute and lofted an effort over, and moments later another two combined for the opener as Lucia Alves crossed from the right and Encarnacao met the delivery with a close-range finish.

Portugal continued to cut through Vietnam and the second goal arrived with Encarnacao turning provider as she played in Nazareth, who slotted past goalkeeper Tran Thi Kim Thanh.

Tran then made two saves in quick succession to deny Alves before a Vietnam foray forward saw Nguyen Thi Thuy Hang bring a save out of Patricia Morais.

The early part of the second half saw Portuguese forward Jessica Silva come to the fore, setting up two chances that Encarnacao might have done better with, and sending two efforts off-target herself, as well as having another blocked by Tran.

There was also a Marchao strike against the bar, with Nazareth’s follow-up being diverted over by Tran.

And Marchao subsequently hit the bar again with a free-kick in the 82nd minute as Portugal’s dominance failed to yield anything to add to their tally.