Brazil win Copa America Femenina can be considered so popular that it is hardly considered news. Nine versions of the tournament have been played and Brazil have won eight of them – the latest one follows 1-0 win on Saturday against the host Colombiaat the end of a tournament where they have won all of their matches and have not conceded a single goal.
But this time it wasn’t so easy. Standards are rising as the sport is evolving. Colombia, of course, had the home advantage, and an accommodating crowd in Bucaramanga cheered them on and, with more shots, and more shots on target, they pushed Brazil hard – to the point of the team. Brazil are receiving some criticism from themselves pressing along with praise for winning the title.
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That’s because the titles that really matter in the girls’ game are World Cup and Olympic gold medal. And doubts remain about the ability of this team, rebuilt by Swedish coach Pia Sondhage, to compete for the silver trophy seriously. Probably the best team in the world 15 years ago, Brazil paid the price for not investing in the sport. They were overtaken and now they are striving to catch up. Heat up the losses to Denmark and Switzerland leaving doubts hanging over the team – which have not been completely cleared up after this latest Copa conquest.
Also advancing to the final with a 100% record, Colombia certainly has the best record in the opening half hour. Their 4-2-3-1 compared to Brazil’s 4-4-2, giving them more players in midfield. They prevented Brazil from playing defensively and penetrated into the space behind Brazil’s full-backs, without managing to present much of a threat to Lorena in the Brazilian goal.
But Brazil can count on individual competence. As the space started to open up, they started to find it easier to find some flow and alignment in their team – and some striker inspiration. Debinha won the day. She made a quick heel strike on the edge of the box, dashed forward to receive the ball back, cut across the right of the Colombian defence, and was clumsily saved. Manuela Vanegas. She stepped on her own to confidently score from the penalty spot and within minutes of half-time, Brazil took the lead.
After the break, they looked more likely to score their next goal, especially dangerous from second balls in set pieces. But Colombia coach Nelson Abadia made a change that seemed counterintuitive, but worked well. He played a great central defender Mayra Ramirez and switch to three in the back. It has the effect of releasing the 17-year-old feeling Linda Caicedo, who is selected as the player of the tournament. She entered the match, and Colombia started to play explosively. She shoots over the bar, and is then denied by a save from the right-back Antonia. ‘s left foot Catalina Usme started having trouble with Lorena, but the captain and central defender of Brazil Rafaelle Constantly creating important gaps, Colombia did not have enough grounds to force an equalizer and Brazil continued to start the victory celebration.
Both sides will be in Paris for the 2024 Olympics – and a year before that, both will be in Australia and New Zealand for the next iteration of the Women’s World Cup. They will be joined by Argentinagood people come to the end to beat Paraguay and took third place in the playoffs. This game is by no means an ordinary glorified friendly match. The winner will automatically qualify for the World Cup, the loser will have to make a continental playoff. And, for a long time, it looked like Paraguay, the surprise team of this year’s competition, would come out on top. But Argentina now has a lot of fighting spirit. They equalized later and scored two more goals in injury time, with Yamila Rodriguez finished as the top scorer of the tournament, to keep their place.
And there was a lot of drama at the end of the game to determine the fifth place, where the winner got a World Cup spot through a playoff, and the loser ended up with nothing. As soon as the game ends, the star player Deyna Castellanos balance for Venezuela against Chile. But the Chileans passed the penalty shootout. Venezuela beat them in the warm-up, but when it mattered, it was Chile who won the prize.
