Women’s team debuts with a rout over Panama – 07/24/2023 – Sport

Every minute that Ary Borges, 23, had to wait to hear her name in childhood, when she used to be the last chosen one in the soccer teams, was rewarded this Monday (24). With the number 17 shirt of the Brazilian national team on her back, the midfielder scored three goals in the victory over Panama, by 4-0, in the debut of the two teams in the Women’s World Cup.

Not even the gunner of the day seemed to believe it. In celebration of the first goal, she knelt on the lawn and tried to cover her face, which was already teary. A movie certainly played in her head, remembering how difficult it was for her to reach the Worlds.

When she was 10 years old, her beginnings in soccer required a place at one of Santos’ schools, in Vila Mariana. There were only boys in the place until her arrival. Not infrequently, she was the last to be chosen when teams were formed.

The insistence of the maranhense in the search for the dream of being a player was decisive for her to shine at the Hindmarsh stadium, in Adelaide, Australia, where Brazil started the fight for the unprecedented world title.

In its ninth participation in World Cups, the women’s team maintains the excellent record in debut games, as it had also won in the previous eight editions.

Present in all editions of the tournament, the Brazilians have 21 wins, 4 draws and 10 defeats, with 70 goals scored and 40 goals conceded, in their general retrospect in the competition.

In addition to Ary, Bia Zaneratto also scored on Monday, in a match in which the Brazilians practically gave the Panamanians no chances to keep the ball.

Debuting in the competition, the Central America team was cornered from the first minutes of the game. Almost conceded a goal after 50 seconds, when Adriana had the first Brazilian chance.

Panama tried to resist as long as it could. But it began to be leaked in the 18th minute of the opening stage, when Debinha received the ball from Tamires on the left and took off a cross for Ary to make her first header.

With the patience to rotate the ball until opening the opponent’s defense, the second goal of the Brazilians came before the break, again with the number 17 shirt.

The dominance in the first stage made Brazil come back lighter for the second half. So much so that this time it didn’t take more than two minutes to swing the net again. After a good plot set up by Debinha and Adriana, Ary now appeared as a waiter to serve Bia Zaneratto, who finished strong: 3 to 0.

The good advantage on the scoreboard made Pia Sundhage’s team allow Panama’s first arrival in the 18th minute. After almost an hour without touching the ball, Lelê was demanded by striker Tanner, who shot a weak shot in the center of the goal.

Before Panama could show any reaction, however, Ary Borges appeared again to score her third, in the 24th minute.

With the victory more than assured, Pia answered the requests from the stands and put Marta to play. At the age of 37, she entered the field after 30 minutes, replacing the top scorer of the day.

In artillery, by the way, shirt number 10 understands well, after all, it is the best scorer in the history of the women’s World Cups, with 17 goals. She scored in all five editions she played from 2003 to 2019.

In the current team, however, it will be a little more difficult to keep writing, as it lost space in the period in which it recovered from an injury. That’s why she started the match on the bench.

In the absence of the Queen, Pia needed to find other technical leaders to seek the unprecedented title for Brazil in the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. The thrashing in the debut was a good sign that she formed a competitive squad.

For the group of Brazilians, Jamaica surprised France, one of the favorites for the title. On Sunday (23), the Jamaicans managed to hold back the offensive power of the French and won a heroic goalless draw.

Following Chave F, Brazil and France will duel next Saturday (29), at 7am (Brasília time). The Europeans, hosts of the last Cup, were the executioners of the Brazilians in the round of 16 of the 2019 edition, with a 2-1 victory in overtime.

Jamaica and Panama complete the second round of the group on the same day, at 9:30 am.