Coach Mai Duc Chung blames players for being subjective against Portugal

"The players have not complied with the legal rules," said Chung after the 0-2 loss at Wikato Stadium this afternoon. "The players thought they could win, so they rushed to attack, leaving their backs open for Portugal to exploit."

According to the 72-year-old military leader, the two central midfielders, Thai Thi Thao and Duong Thi Van, were tasked with recovering the ball but raising it too high, so that the opponent could easily pass back and forth, making him unhappy. "I shouted very loudly, asked to withdraw but could not. Perhaps these players were attracted to the opponent's play," he added.

Among the three competitors in Group E, Portugal is not considered too different from Vietnam. This is also their first time attending the World Cup. Meanwhile, the US is the most successful team in the history of the tournament with four championships, and the Netherlands is the defending runner-up.

Perhaps, because of that correlation, Vietnam has entered the game boldly, pushing up the offensive formation instead of defending and counter-attacking as its forte. But after only a few minutes of excitement, the team let Portugal take over the game, constantly besieging Tran Thi Kim Thanh's goal. In the 7th minute, Vietnam's defense system could not keep up with people, letting Telma Encarnacao escape to score the opening goal for Portugal. In the 21st minute, the gap was doubled, with a goal from Francisca Nazareth.

According to coach Mai Duc Chung, the players' thoughts in the first half went against the tight defensive strategy and waited for the opportunity set by the coaching board. He also admitted, if he saved the opportunity from 29 shots, Portugal could win more boldly.

However, the Hanoi military leader still accepts responsibility, and asserts that this is a lesson for Vietnamese players to know where the level is. "Don't think that losing a little to the US is a good thing," he said. "It's just playing with a brave spirit to be like that, not professional. The US may not have arranged an official team and haven't played at all."

After two matches, Vietnam conceded five goals and have yet to score a goal. When asked by a foreign reporter about his weakness, Mr. Chung said that lies in bodybuilding and physical strength. Despite having a fitness coach Cedric Roger, the players have only improved somewhat, because this is an element that must be trained from a young age. "Even our skills are not good, the ball is broken and the pass is light," said Chung. "The failures show my players that they are still much inferior, need to learn and draw experience in the future."

The last match on August 1, Vietnam meets the Netherlands - the team is second with four points.