Netherlands Women will square off against Portugal Women at the Forsyth Barr Stadium in their 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup on Sunday morning. The Netherlands, losing finalists at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, start their campaign this time around against fellow UEFA nation Portugal. This will be their third Women’s World Cup tournament, and to make a change, they won’t be facing New Zealand in the opening game just like they did in both 2015 and 2019, winning 1-0 both times. They will be missing star player and all-time record scorer Vivianne Miedema for this tournament following the injury she suffered with club side Arsenal in December. Meanwhile, Portugal are in the group stage of the World Cup for the first time in history and are one of the eight teams that will make their debut in the competition this year. They booked their place in the group stage thanks to a 2-1 win over Cameroon Women in the inter-continental playoffs final in February. They have played four friendlies since and defeated Ukraine 2-0 in their final warm-up match earlier this month. The Netherlands warmed up for the World Cup with an impressive 5-0 win over Belgium. I am expecting a win for the Netherlands for the following reasons:

Firstly. The Netherlands are one of the national teams that have perhaps improved the most in the last ten years. In the current FIFA world ranking, they are in 9th place, and at the previous World Cup in France, they finished as runner-up, right behind one of the opponents in this group, the USA. It is a fantastic success considering that the Netherlands have only participated in the final tournament 3 times so far. They have won three of their last four games in all competitions, scoring 13 goals in that period while conceding just twice. The Netherlands have outscored Portugal 23-9 in their previous eight meetings and are expected to have the upper hand in this latest meeting.

Secondly. Portugal are one of eight teams making their debut at the Women’s World Cup this year, alongside Haiti, the Republic of Ireland, Morocco, Panama, the Philippines, Vietnam and Zambia. They will also be looking to get just their second win at a major tournament, losing four and drawing one of their six matches. However, Portugal have proven themselves to be a resolute side defensively and will look to frustrate Netherlands. In their past eight official games, Portugal have conceded four goals and kept five clean sheets. But I do not think that that would be enough to stop the Netherlands.

Netherlands are one of the favourites topped to go far in this tournament, and considering their recent record in competitive games and better record against Portugal, I expect them to secure a win against Portugal in the Sunday fixture.

周日上午，荷兰女足将在福赛斯巴尔体育场迎战葡萄牙女足，争夺2023年国际足联女足世界杯。在2019年国际足联女足世界杯决赛中失利的荷兰队，这次将与同为欧洲足联成员国的葡萄牙队展开比赛。这将是她们第三次参加女足世界杯，为了做出改变，她们不会像2015年和2019年那样，在首场比赛中面对新西兰，两次都以1比0获胜。由于去年12月在阿森纳队受伤，他们的明星球员、历史进球纪录保持者维维安·米德玛将无法参加本届世界杯。与此同时，葡萄牙历史上首次进入世界杯小组赛阶段，是今年首次参加世界杯的八支球队之一。在2月份的洲际季后赛决赛中，她们2-1战胜了喀麦隆女队，从而确保了小组出线的资格。自那以后，他们已经打了四场友谊赛，并在本月早些时候的最后一场热身赛中以2比0击败了乌克兰。荷兰队在世界杯热身赛中5-0大胜比利时队，令人印象深刻。我期待荷兰队获胜，原因如下:

首先。荷兰队可能是过去十年中进步最大的国家队之一。在目前的国际足联世界排名中，他们排在第9位，而在上一届法国世界杯上，他们以亚军的身份结束比赛，紧随同组对手之一的美国队之后。考虑到荷兰到目前为止只参加过3次决赛，这是一个了不起的成功。在最近的四场比赛中，他们赢了三场，在这段时间里打进13球，只丢了2球。荷兰队在之前的8次交锋中以23比9的比分击败了葡萄牙队，预计在最近的这次交锋中，荷兰队将占据上风。

其次。葡萄牙是今年首次参加女足世界杯的八支球队之一，另外还有海地、爱尔兰共和国、摩洛哥、巴拿马、菲律宾、越南和赞比亚。他们还希望在重大赛事中取得第二场胜利，他们的六场比赛中有四场失利，一场平局。然而，葡萄牙队已经证明了他们在防守上是坚定的，他们将会挫败荷兰队。在过去的8场正式比赛中，葡萄牙队丢了4球，保持了5次零封。但我不认为这足以阻止荷兰。

荷兰队是本届世界杯上最有希望走得更远的球队之一，考虑到他们最近在竞技比赛中的战绩以及对葡萄牙的更好战绩，我希望他们能在周日的比赛中战胜葡萄牙。