"I’m extremely delighted and happy. It still feels unreal to me," Nha told VnExpress after the match on Saturday night, which Vietnam lost 2-1.

A screenshot of Nguyen Thi Thanh Nha celebrating her goal for Vietnam against Germany in the exhibition match on June 24, 2023

"Although it was just a friendly, the two teams gave their best because we are preparing for the Women’s World Cup. This goal means a lot to me and the team," she said. "For me, it’s a historic moment that I will never forget because I scored against the number two team in the world."

"Before the game, our target was trying not to concede too many Nobody thought that scoring against a strong team like Germany was possible, although we wanted to," Nha added.

During the game, Germany coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg was often furious as the hosts let Vietnam create many chances.

"That's not how we wanted to play," Voss-Tecklenburg told DW. "There is a lot to work on in all areas. We had to throw the team together today. It wasn't that we wanted to see certain players, but we had to bring them in."

Vietnam, 32nd in the world ranking, were expecting a big defeat against Germany when they conceded in the third minute as Paulina Krumbiegel scored.

However, they stayed focused and established a solid defense and patiently waited for opportunities on the counter.

Despite only having 28% possession and creating seven attempts compared to Germany’s 27, Vietnam still mustered five shots on target against six for their opponents.

In the second half, Germany again controlled the game but face difficulties against Vietnam’s defensive play. After each unsuccessful attempt, Vietnam quickly deployed a counter-attack and put the hosts in danger. In the 77th minute, they nearly scored when Nguyen Thi Tuyet Dung dribbled past keeper Merle Frohms but couldn’t finish in the empty net.

Just three minutes later, Germany got the second goal with Janina Minge’s finish. Vietnam continued to put pressure on Germany and Vu Thi Hoa was close to scoring in the 85th but her shot couldn’t beat Frohms, who kept denying Vietnam.

The visitors finally scored their first goal against Germany. In the second additional minute, after receiving the ball from Ngan Thi Van Su, Thanh Nha sprinted down the center before defeating Frohms with a powerful shot to the right.

Voss-Tecklenburg was impressed that so many Vietnamese fans in Germany came to support their home team.

The 2023 Women’s World Cup will take place from July 20 to August 20 in New Zealand and Australia.

Vietnam are in group E with the defending champions the U.S., as well as the Netherlands and Portugal.

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Source: VnExpress