Police have praised the actions of a teenage girl who fought off an abduction attempt, amid fears her attackers could strike again.

Two men in a white van pulled up beside the 14-year-old as she walked home from school along Union Street in East Brighton in Melbourne's south on Wednesday.

One of the men got out of the van, grabbed the girl by the shoulders and told her to get in the vehicle about 3.45pm.

Instead, she dropped to the ground, scooped up some dirt and threw it in his face before striking him in the neck with a stick.