Friendly match: Vietnam Women’s team vs New Zealand Women’s team: 0-2
The friendly match with New Zealand is considered the first rehearsal for the Vietnam women’s team before meeting Spain on July 14. Despite great efforts, but in front of a higher-class opponent, after 90 minutes of playing, Vietnam team accepted to lose 0-2.
10/07/2023 18:07:03
Compared to the defeat to Germany’s women’s team, the Vietnam women’s team only had 1 change in the start list when facing host New Zealand. Accordingly, Huynh Nhu replaced Thuy Hang to start from the beginning and take on the role of supporting Hai Yen. The trio in the defense of the Vietnam women’s team includes midfielders Tran Thi Thu, Diem My and Thu Thuong. Meanwhile, the New Zealand team gathers a highly-rated force with many players playing in the USA, England, Sweden or Australia. Among these, female coach Jitka Klimkova has filled in the names of 10 players for the first time in the biggest women’s tournament on the planet.
With the force playing football in countries with developed soccer tables in the world, New Zealand Team is really a very quality opponent for the Vietnam women’s team.
Not playing well in the previous preparation, the host is very interested in finding a victory against the Vietnam women’s team to do a motivation before entering the 2023 Women’s World Cup, because this is New Zealand’s last friendly match.
Unexpectedly, with outstanding physique and physical strength as well as a higher level of expertise, New Zealand created an overwhelming battle. During the first half, Jitka Klimkova’s team controlled the ball more than 70% of the time on the field.
The home team’s attacking showed that they are inclined to pat the ball from the two wings. The speed and strength of Riley and Hand made the defense of the Vietname women’s team worked very hard.
Admittedly, the first half was an excellent performance by goalkeeper Kim Thanh. The “guardian” of the Vietnam women’s team managed the 16m50 area quite well when entering and exiting reasonably, handling the situation firmly, excellent reflexes blocked at least 5 shots of the home team. However, Kim Thanh’s hands did not help the Vietnam women’s team keep a clean sheet in the first 45 minutes.
Too much pressure from the home team made the ball almost only roll on the side of the Vietnam women’s team, so the defenders of coach Mai Duc Chung were quite hard. From a teammate’s corner in the 17th minute, CJ Bott shot the ball straight to Vietnam’s goal, Thu Thao missed the ball, surprising goalkeeper Kim Thanh, and had to watch the ball roll into the net. Before the first half ended, the defense of the Vietnam women’s team once again succumbed to the home team after a phase on the right wing for Riley to cross and Hand easily cushion the ball into an empty net, doubling the advantage for New Zealand.
Realizing that the right wing was often exploited by the opponent, at the beginning of the second half, coach Mai Duc Chung made changes to strengthen the right corridor with the presence of Van Su and Hai Linh. Due to the strong physical foundation, this team has significantly limited the turbulent phases from the left wing of the home team. Therefore, New Zealand’s chances to score were not created as much in the second half as in the first 45 minutes, although the home team still had complete control of the match.
During the match, the Vietnam women’s team had to focus on defense, so the midfield could not organize counterattacks towards the New Zealand goal. During 90 minutes, Mr. Mai Duc Chung’s team only created a few situations on football attention. The most significant was Thanh Nha’s breakthrough on the left wing in the 35th minute, but the midfielder’s shot turned on the home defender’s foot, blocking a turbulent situation of the Vietnam women’s team. In the end, Mr. Mai Duc Chung’s team was defeated with a score of 0-2.
