Portugal Women v Vietnam Women

Portugal Women vs Vietnam Women Preview

Portugal find themselves in trouble in Group E following their opening game 1-0 defeat to Netherlands and they now must take all three points along with boosting their goal difference against fellow World Cup debutants in Group E, Vietnam, when the two nations clash at the Waikato Stadium on Thursday night.

USA are the stand-out favourites to win Group E with Netherlands and Portugal expected to be fighting it out for the runners-up spot but having lost to the Dutch, Portugal must take all three points against Vietnam and hope USA beat Netherlands or for the Portuguese to get something against the States.

Various scenarios could therefore unfold but Portugal know they must concentrate on their own result and all is not lost as Portugal have lost just twice in their last 13 matches overall, picking up nine wins in the process as well.

Interestingly, seven of Portugal's nine aforementioned wins also resulted in Over 2.5 goals being scored too, so we could be in for a treat here at the Waikato Stadium.

Vietnam's situation appears to be even worse than Portugal's as they suffered a heavy 3-0 defeat to the World Cup holders, USA, in their opening game in Group E and another tough challenge awaits them in Hamilton when they come up against fellow debutants, Portugal, knowing this is a ‘do or die' fixture.

Vietnam must grab all three points here if they're to remain in the race for a possible top two finish in the group but a defeat here would virtually seal their fate and send the Asian nation tumbling out of the tournament.

The prospects of a Vietnam win here on Thursday night however, looks slim at best as they have now lost their last four matches on the trot overall, losing to Germany 2-1, New Zealand 2-0, Spain 9-0 and USA 3-0, while also shipping a total of 16 goals in the process which does not bode well for Thursday night.

Incidentally, seven of Vietnam's last 10 matches overall have also resulted in Over 2.5 goals being scored as well.

Portugal W v Vietnam W Verdict

Portugal and Vietnam have never played each other before in any competitive match at all so both sides will be checking each other out in the early stages but neither side can afford to play it safe here as an important three points are on the line for both nations.

We should therefore expect to see a few goals scored in this encounter with perhaps Portugal coming out on top.

Therefore, our main bet will be Portugal win & Over 2.5 goals @ 1.61

Other side bets worth considering:

Over 2.5 goals & Both Teams To Score No @ 2.40

Correct score: Portugal 4-0 @ 7.50