Pia Sundhage says she doesn’t know if Marta will be in the starting line-up for Brazil – 06/27/2023 – Sport

Pia Sundhage paused before announcing the last name on Brazil’s squad for the World Cup. “And Marta, Orlando Pride”, announced the Swedish coach, confirming that the biggest name in the history of women’s football in the country will be in a World Cup for the sixth time.

She just didn’t say whether the 37-year-old striker would start next month’s tournaments in Australia and New Zealand. The playmaker comes from a serious injury to her left knee. And, in her period of absence, she saw the selection create good alternatives, with a stronger collective game and relevant results.

“Marta is the queen, she is the icon. Being next to her is contagious. She is generous, she has a lot of energy. I have already said in some interviews that, in the final pass, she is one of the best. Will she be in the lineup? I don’t know. Yet I don’t know. The good part is that she will play the role I give her,” said the 63-year-old coach.

The Alagoan broke the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee at the end of March 2022. She underwent surgery and returned to action in February of this year, when she played three matches with the national team, in the SheBelieves Cup. In all of them, he entered the second half, acting in about half an hour.

Since then, he has been on the field 11 times for the Orlando Pride, ten as a starter, with two goals and an assist. In his most recent participation, he played the 90 minutes of the 2-1 defeat against Kansas City and said he was ready for the World Cup. “Gratitude for another opportunity to represent my country.”

It will be Marta’s last World Cup, as she has repeatedly stated. Therefore, the competition in Oceania is seen as the ultimate opportunity for the athlete’s consecration with Brazil’s shirt. She was runner-up in 2007 and also has two Olympic silver medals, in 2004 and 2008.

“I faced Marta in 2008”, recalled Pia, coach of the US team that won the gold medal. “She was brilliant. Today, she doesn’t dominate the game so much, for two reasons. She’s a little older, not as fast. And, as the development of women’s football has been fast, we have good players. It will be difficult for someone to master how Marta dominated.”

“She’s fit, all right. We’ve been fielding different players. Against England and Germany, for example, she wasn’t there. Those two games have given us a lot of confidence. That means this year we’ll have a fantastic bench, with supersubstitutes,” added the coach.

With a muscle problem, the playmaker was not in these matches, in April, the most recent of the green-and-yellow team. In the Final, the confrontation between the European and South American champions, Brazil lost on penalties to England, at Wembley Stadium, in London, after a 1-1 draw. in Nuremberg.

It was these results that excited Sundhage about the possibility of a long-running campaign in Australia and New Zealand. The team is in Group F, alongside France (executioner in the last edition of the tournament), Jamaica and Panama. The debut is scheduled for July 24, against Panama, in Adelaide.

“The top ten teams have a chance of winning, and Brazil is eighth [no ranking da Fifa]. With luck, any one of these could win. The sky is the limit. If Brazil has a chance to be champion? For sure! With the track record we have and the support, it could be. Already this year? I don’t know. It could be in four years,” Pia said.

The Swede said she sought a combination of experience and youth in forming the group. It took athletes like defender Lauren, 20 years old. And she surprised by taking goalkeeper Bárbara, 34, and defender Mônica, 36. In this team, there will be a role for Marta, although it is not yet clear.

“I’m lucky to be around Marta. It’s very special. We can use Marta’s name in a positive way. For example, can you imagine, if we win the first game, what will that do to Brazil and Marta? Brazil it’s not just one player, but a team. Marta is the best because she’s the best team player. We’d like to win for Brazil, and Marta is Brazilian.”