Portugal vs Vietnam Odds
| Portugal Odds | -223 |
| Vietnam Odds | +600 |
| Draw | +330 |
| Over/Under | 2.5 (+110 / -143) |
| Both Teams to Score (Yes/No) | (+137 / -188) |
| Odds via bet365. Get up-to-the-minute World Cup odds here. | |
Portugal and Vietnam meet in the World Cup group stage with both sides needing all three points.
The former struggled to generate chances against the Dutch after conceding inside the first 20 minutes. Portugal's national team has been getting better and better in recent years, and three points against Vietnam would give them a shot on the final day of the group stage to make it to the round of 16.
Vietnam put in a valiant performance to only lose 3-0 to the United States in their first ever World Cup appearance. However, the talent level of this squad is vastly lower than the rest of the teams in the group. However, Philippines pulled off an upset of New Zealand, so anything can happen.
Portugal Capable of Dominating Against Weaker Opposition
Portugal really struggled to get forward and create chances against the Netherlands. They played them at the Euros last summer, scoring twice and created 1.4 xG. This time around the Dutch dominated the match, especially after scoring in the 16th minute.
🇳🇱 Netherlands 1-0 Portugal 🇵🇹
The Dutch win 1-0, but their performance was more dominant than the scoreline suggests. Portugal didn't touch the ball in the Netherlands box until the 82nd minute.#FIFAWWCpic.twitter.com/UD9nD3B02f
— Opta Analyst (@OptaAnalyst) July 23, 2023
They can play a blend of a couple of different styles, favoring a 4-3-3 when they know they’re going to be holding a majority of possession and then they can also switch to a conservative 4-4-2 when playing against bigger sides. Portugal are very good in possession and they do a fantastic job finding numerical superiorities around the pitch. So, even though they got dominated by the Netherlands in their first match, they are very capable of dominating possession in this match against Vietnam.
Out of possession, Portugal will press high if they believe it will be effective against the opponent they are facing, but they are much more of a mid-block team. They sat very deep against the Netherlands, but expect them to come out and press high against Vietnam.
Vietnam Lack Top Level Talent
Honestly, a 3-0 loss to the United States is about as good as Vietnam could have hoped for. They conceded 4.7 xG, 27 shots and didn't even register a shot themselves. In fact, Vietnam had just 18 touches in the United States' final third.
To get here, Vietnam made the quarterfinals of the Asian Women’s Cup in 2022, but they made the quarterfinals by finishing third in their group, beating Myanmar on goal differential -6 to -7. Since Iran had a -12 goal differential and finished third in their group, Vietnam were second among the third place teams, so they qualified.
In terms of talent, their main striker Nhu Huynh is the only player playing in Europe. Otherwise, every other player is playing domestically.
Vietnam play out of a 5-4-1, trying to stay very compact and looking to hit teams on the counter, but the reality is this team lacks the talent to compete with Portugal.
Portugal vs Vietnam Pick
I really don't see how Vietnam are going to create any chances of quality after the performance against the United States. I know it's already been said, but they really lack the talent to compete with the other three teams in this group – even Portugal – who have been improving in talent over the last four years.
You will see a much more comfortable Portuguese team in this match – a team that is much better when they're able to control a majority of the possession and play on the front foot – creating their numerical advantages in the final third.
The big trend at this World Cup is the both teams to score (no) tally is 19-2, as well as unders hitting at a crazy rate. So, with how poor Vietnam are going forward in attack, I see no reason this will change.
The Pick: Under 3 (-134 via DraftKings)
