Selection: attack shows strength and defense just ‘watches’ – 07/24/2023 – Sport

The 4-0 defeat in the debut of the Brazilian team in the Women’s World Cup showed that the players knew how to deal very well with what was Pia Soudhage’s biggest concern: anxiety.

Facing the modest selection of Panama, debuting in the Worlds, the Swedish coach believed that only her own nervousness, common in the first round, could hinder her players.

“The way we played today makes me very satisfied. I didn’t know exactly what to expect, because some young players haven’t played in a Cup, so I’m very proud of them”, said the captain.

The performance against the Panamanians indicated some positive points that Brazil can explore in the search for the unprecedented world title. On the other hand, the fragility of the opponent prevented the defensive sector and the connection between the defense and the attack from being more tested before duels against stronger teams, such as the match with France, on Saturday (29).

It is good to remember, however, that some favorite teams in their debut clashes had much more difficulty than Brazil. England, for example, struggled to beat Haiti 1-0, Norway lost to New Zealand, also 1-0, and even France drew 0-0 with Jamaica.

See strengths and weaknesses of the debut of the Brazilian team

Ary Borges, the top scorer

With three goals, the 23-year-old midfielder “showed an attacking personality that helped a lot”, defined coach Pia Sunhage. “She’s a happy person, and that energy rubbed off on the team.”

The player from Racing Louisville, from the United States, took advantage of the freedom she had in the midfield and looked for infiltrations between the attackers. In the three goals she scored in the match, the athlete surprised the Panamanian defense coming from behind.

offensive repertoire

“The third goal was a typical Brazilian goal. It was something unpredictable”, described Pia when commenting on the beautiful play that ended with Bia Zaneratto’s goal.

In the bid, Tamires launched Debinha on the left, the number 9 teamed with Adriana and raised in the area. Ary Borges received it in front of the goal, after being blocked, he served Bia Zaneratto with a heel.

The play highlighted by the coach is a good example of the offensive repertoire that Brazil showed against Panama. In addition to Ary Borges and Zaneratto, Debinha, Adriana and Gabi Nunes also had chances to score in the match.

Not even when the game was 4-0 did the team retreat. “The girls who entered were willing to score a goal because the game gave us that situation”, praised Marta when talking about the players who, like her, entered the second half.

Bye, zebra!

Even though Panama, as one of the debuting teams in this World Cup, did not offer great resistance, Brazil did what is expected of an opponent with greater technical capacity.

From the first minute, the squad dominated the actions, always looking for the attack, had patience to find the first goal and left few spaces for the Panamanians to think about the match.

“Premiere has that nervousness, wanting to do well everything that was passed. We did all of that well”, said left-back Tamires.

Lelê didn’t even get the gloves

According to FIFA statistics, while Brazil took the final 34 times, 11 of which were on target, Panama took just 7 shots, 2 of which were on goal defended by Lelê.

In both, the Brazilian goalkeeper made saves without much effort. Although it was important to finish the first game without conceding a goal, Brazil’s defense was little tested, which still leaves an open question for the World Cup sequence.

Opponents like France, rivals of the Brazilians in the second round of Group F, will certainly demand that the entire defensive system is well compacted.

“We know that France is a very strong opponent. They play a lot in the transition, they are strong and very intense. We will study well, prepare well and I am sure that Pia will come with the best tactics possible”, said midfielder Luana.