Vietnam limit US goals in Women’s World Cup

At a press conference after the match at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand, Andonovski said he was satisfied with the 3-0 win for the U.S. even though he thought the U.S. could have played better.

He said they should have created more opportunities and scored more goals against Vietnam.

The U.S. are currently the top women’s national team in the world, having won the championship at the Women’s World Cup for the past two years. Vietnam meanwhile is a newbie on the scene, and are number 32 in the FIFA ranking.

Nevertheless, Vietnam coach Mai Duc Chung said he was satisfied with Vietnam’s performance despite the loss.

Vietnamese players had no shots in the game although they fulfilled the important target of limiting goals lost. They conceded three, although the U.S. had 28 shots, including seven on target.

Writing for the Sydney Morning Herald, Vince Rugani said Vietnam made the U.S. sweat in their first appearance at the World Cup.

“Committing numbers behind the ball, they squeezed out every ounce of effort they had in them, blocking shots and clogging up passing lanes, while Vietnam’s goalkeeper Tran Thi Kim Thanh will probably be feted as a hero back home for turning the U.S. away time and again,” he wrote.

Vietnam are the second Southeast Asian team to play the U.S. at the Women’s World Cup. In 2019, the debuting Thailand also met the U.S. in their opening game and lost 0-13.