‘I know Portugal’s weaknesses’: Vietnam captain

“I know what Portugal can do. I also know the strengths and weaknesses of many Portuguese players when they competed in the domestic league last season. Hope it will help Vietnam when we face Portugal in the upcoming match,” Nhu said before a training session on Tuesday.

Nhu joined Portuguese club Lank FC in August 2022. Last season she played 23 matches, scored seven goals and provided two assists for Lank in the Portuguese women’s football league. It is expected that after the 2023 World Cup, the Vietnamese striker will extend her contract with Lank.

Lank did not contribute any players to Portugal for the 2023 World Cup. But Huynh Nhu knows many opponents in the next match.

Like Vietnam, this is Portugal’s first World Cup. In the opening match of group E, they lost 0-1 to the Netherlands and made the defending runner-up struggle for the whole game. For Vietnam, losing 0-3 to the defending champions and world number one U.S. is considered a success in their first World Cup game.

“After the match with the U.S., we have learned a lot. The team are training harder and trying to overcome the mistakes in the last match to prepare for the Portugal game,” Nhu added.

So far, 2023 Women’s World Cup showed that the levels of teams are not too different. Many teams with low positions in world ranking have created some surprises. Haiti only lost 0-1 to England, Ireland made the host Australia struggle to get the win, while Philippines, in their first time at the World Cup, defeated the host New Zealand 1-0.

“I believe that if Vietnam can compete in the next World Cups, we will play even better,” Nhu said.

The game between Portugal and Vietnam will take place at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday (Hanoi time) and will be reported live on VnExpress International.