Against Europeans, Brazil enters the final stretch before the Cup – 05/04/2023 – Sport

Having the chance to play at the iconic Wembley Stadium is something unique even for seasoned athletes. Rafaelle, defender for Arsenal and the Brazilian national team, knows how unforgettable this Thursday’s (6th) match will be. Brazil faces England in the first women’s edition of the Finalissima, a confrontation between the champions of the Copa América and the Eurocopa.

“I had the opportunity to play in Maracanã in front of 70,000 people and it was incredible, now we will have many more English people in the stands, and I know how these games are. The fans are the 12th player and we have to be careful. This match will be important not only for women’s football, but also for me, because I will be able to tell my children that I played at Wembley in front of almost 90,000 people. It will be special,” said Rafaelle.

The more than 80,000 tickets sold, with tickets sold out since January, are a testament to the popularity of women’s football in England. At Wembley, in July last year, the English won the Euro Cup by beating Germany in front of more than 87,000 spectators, a record attendance in a final of the competition, both male and female.

“I’ve been with the national team for a while, I followed this transition from the beginning, when there wasn’t so much press coverage, so many people in the stadium, and it’s important to be living that,” said Rafaelle.

“There’s still a lot to happen, women’s football is the sport of the future. We have a team that mixes experienced and young athletes who can surprise. People will be here to see good football and it’s a game that will be decided in the details.”

The match is part of the build-up to the Women’s Football World Cup, which will be held from July 20 to August 20 in Australia and New Zealand. Brazil is also playing a friendly against Germany on the next 11th, in Nuremberg.

Coach Pia Sundhage has called up 27 players for the matches against England and Germany. Brazil played last Monday (3rd) in London without forwards Marta and Nycole and midfielder Duda Sampaio, cut off due to injury. The players are expected to recover between three and four weeks. Midfielders Duda Santos and Luana and attacking midfielder Andressa Alves were called – back to the national team for the first time since 2021. The group has two newcomers: goalkeeper Camila and striker Aline.

“We don’t have a lot of players who have already had the experience of playing in a World Cup, so it will be fantastic to see how they handle a packed stadium, playing against a great team, it will be a huge experience for them,” said Sundhage.

England is still without striker Beth Mead, the top scorer in the Euros and voted best player of the tournament. In November last year, Rafaelle’s teammate ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in her knee, and she is running out of time to try to go to the World Cup.

The English are in 4th place in the FIFA ranking, while the Brazilians occupy the 9th position. In the last meeting between the two teams, a friendly in 2019, Brazil won 2-1.

“Brazil have a young team, but very good. They have power, they are very technical, we are excited to play against the Brazilians,” said England coach, Dutch Sarina Wiegman, current winner of the FIFA The Best award for best coach women’s football in the world.

It was precisely a match against the Brazilian team that helped change the British perception of women’s football, after Great Britain beat Brazil in front of more than 70,000 spectators in the group stage of the London 2012 Olympic Games. In the following years, the modality grew and investments increased. Today, the top division of the English championship, the Women’s Super League, is considered one of the strongest in the world.

The 2012 Games are among the many special memories that Wembley brings to Sundhage: at the London stadium, the Swede won her second Olympic gold in a row as coach of the United States, and in the same year she was named the best female coach in the world by FIFA.

The date of the Finalissima marks almost 100 years since the first official match at Wembley (the old stadium was closed for renovations in 2000 and reopened in 2007 with a capacity of 90,000 spectators): a Bolton Wanderers v West Ham in the final of the FA Cup on April 28, 1923. This Thursday, one of the biggest stages in world football will be theirs, with a full house.