Portugal took another important step in qualifying for the 2027 Women’s World Cup by beating Latvia 0-3, in a match in which they confirmed their favoritism and controlled practically all incidents in the match. With a safe, effective and dominant performance, the Seleção scored three important points in the race for classification, with emphasis on Kika Nazareth’s double, decisive in the Portuguese triumph.
The national selector Francisco Neto I wanted more and better from Navigators. “We didn’t win with the numbers we thought we could win. Without having played a brilliant game, we had opportunities to leave here with other numbers. But we took another step towards what our focus is”, said the Portuguese coach. In the same sense, Kika Nazareth also admitted that the team could have done more and better. “Our goal is always to win. There is a lot of room for progression. I think we could have left Riga with a bigger victory”.
The Portuguese team started comfortably, with control of possession and a good reaction to loss, creating danger in the first minutes, mainly through the corridors. Lúcia Alves gave the first warning, Jéssica Silva was very active on the right side and Ana Capeta participated well in the offensive combinations.
The first goal came in the 14th minute, from a high-quality free kick by Kika Nazareth. Four minutes later, Tatiana Pinto scored the second, completing a somewhat confusing but effective play inside the area.
Until the break, Portugal remained dominant, pressing in search of the third, while Latvia almost failed to attack. Even so, close to rest, there was danger in both goals: Miksone appeared isolated, but Inês Pereira held on, and in response Jéssica Silva also wasted a good opportunity.
Leave a Reply