
Hanoi (VNA) – The Vietnam women’s football team won 5-1 over Nepal in the first match in Kathmandu of the first qualifying round for Women’s Olympic Football Tournament Paris 2024 , with striker Huynh Nhu scoring twice.
The first half saw Vietnamese women completely control the game andcreate more scoring chances.
In the 11th minute, Hai Yen jumped to head home, giving Vietnam the lead.
In the 36th minute, Nhu extended Vietnam’s lead with a penalty kick.
In the 38th minute, BichThuy earned another goal for Vietnam from a Nepalese defender’s own goal.
Nepalese women carved outseveral chances but failed to defeat Vietnamese goalkeeper Khong Thi Hang.
Three minutes into thesecond half, Nhu took advantage of Hoang Thi Loan’s precise crossfrom the left side and headed home, sending the ball into the far corner of thegoal.
The Vietnamese side slowed down the pace, and coach Mai Duc Chung also made some substitutionsto keep key players in good form for the coming game.
About 10 minutes before the lastwhistle, from a smart slit of her teammate, Bhandari crossed the penalty boxand defeated goalkeeper Hang.
However, Thanh Nha had avery long shot with her left foot in the extra time, rocketing the ball into thetop corner of the goal, clinching a 5-1 victory for Vietnam.
After Afghanistan andPalestine withdrew, there are only two teams – Vietnam and Nepal - in Group C.Besides the April 5 match, they will play again on April 8. The winner will advanceto the second qualifier. The seven group winnersfrom Round 1 will continue their quest in Round 2, which is expected tocommence in October.
In the next round, theywill be joined by the five highest-seeded teams – Democratic People's Republicof Korea, Japan, Australia, China, and Republic of Korea – and divided intothree groups.
Four teams – the threegroup winners and the best-ranked runners-up – will then progress to Round 3 toplay two pairs of home and away matches, slated for February 2024, with theeventual winners qualifying for the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament Paris2024./.