VietNamNet Bridge – The Vietnam women’s national football team recorded a convincing 3-1 victory against Jordan in their Group A opener of the 2014 AFC Women’s Asian Cup finals at Thong Nhat Stadium in Ho Chi Minh City on May 14.

Vietnamese women celebrate their victory. (Source: bongdaplus.vn)

Vietnam emerged in a dominant manner against Jordan in their previous meetings, winning five matches and losing just one.

It did not take so long for the home side to seize the advantage over underdogs Jordan. In the 18th minute, from a right-wing cross by Kim Hong, Nguyen Thi Muon skewed a cunning volley, beating goalkeeper Al Sadi and putting Vietnam ahead 1-0.

The early lead put Vietnamese players high on confidence, with two more solid chances for scoring in the 25th and 29th minutes; however Minh Nguyet failed to find the back of the net.

Despite their weak start, Jordan surprisingly restored parity, thanks to an equaliser from Maysa, the most impressive performer in Jordan’s lineup, in the 34th minute.

Thanh Huong helped Vietnam regain the lead two minutes later, with a strong header from Kim Hong’s left-wing pass.

The first-half scenario was repeated in the second, as Vietnam continued taking absolute control of the game. Nguyen Thi Nguyet missed the 79th-minute opportunity to strengthen Vietnam’s advantage before Thanh Huong completed her personal double with eight minutes to play, to seal a final 3-1 win for the host team.

The important victory brings Vietnam closer to the play-off match for the 2015 World Cup slot, as there is little chance for Jordan to create a miracle against remaining group opponents, Japan and Australia.

The 2014 Asian Cup finals features eight teams divided into two groups. The top two finishers from each group will enter the semi-finals and automatically book a berth at the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada. The two third-place finishers will meet each other in a play-off game to determine the fifth team from Asia to play for glory at next year’s World Cup competition.

Next up for Vietnam is tomorrow’s crunch encounter against defending world champion, Japan.

Source: Nhan Dan