Portugal ran out 2-0 winners against Vietnam to earn their first ever win in a FIFA Women’s World Cup match. Telma Encarnação and Kika Nazareth scored the goals for Francisco Neto’s side.
There was an explosion of relief and joy when Telma Encarnação got on the end of a delightful Lúcia Alves cross after just seven minutes. A historic moment in Portuguese football. It was Portugal’s first ever goal at a FIFA Women’s World Cup and it sent them on their way to their first win.
20-year-old Kika Nazareth added a second for Portugal after 21 minutes with an expertly taken finish, her first goal at a major tournament for Portugal and it will not be her last. Teammate Andreia Norton once called Nazareth a ‘beacon of light’ and that is not an understatement. There is a feeling that Kika will be at the heart of everything good that Portugal will go on to do in the women’s game over the next 10 or so years.
After a narrow 1-0 defeat to a strong Netherlands team (ranked ninth in the world), there was hope that Portugal could really go out and give a good account of themselves against Vietnam and that is exactly what Francisco Neto’s side did.
It was always going to be tough for Portugal to qualify for the knockout stages of their first ever FIFA Women’s World Cup, especially after they were drawn in the Group of Death alongside defending champions United States of America and 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup finalists Netherlands, but today Portugal did themselves proud and on another day they could (and probably should) have won by an even greater margin. Portugal are still in with a slim shot of qualification and the Navegadoras will have to give absolutely everything in the final group match against the USA if they want a place in the knockout stages.
