For the first time the Women's edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup includes CONMEBOL invitees. Brazil is one of them and starts tonight against Porto Rico https://ge.globo.com/futebol/futebo...eminina-onde-assistir-ao-vivo-e-horario.ghtml The match starts in about 1 hour, technically tomorrow in Brazil. Not sure what to expect from Brazil under the new coach. Obviously we're not favorites in a Gold Cup with USA and Canada, but a good Brazil team would hope to upset one of those and maybe even make it to the final. Brazil is in a group with Colombia, Panama and Porto Rico. Colombia are currently beating Panama 5x0 to open the group. There are only 12 teams (3 groups of 4) and the top 2 + next 2 qualify for the quarters. Quarter-final match-ups depend on the overall ranking, not just the group placement.
Colombia scored one more to make it 6x0 Brazil's starting lineup for tonight: Luciana; Julia Bianchi, Lauren, Rafaelle, Bia Menezes; Ary Borges, Aline Milene, Duda Santos; Adriana, Debinha, Bia Zaneratto
1x0 win in the end. The goal came after 80 minutes. I watched the first half and Brazil were poor in my opinion. They did create chances, but they don't have what it takes to threaten opponents consistently. On top of that Porto Rico had a solid goalkeeper and when we did have first half chances, she was there to stop it. But we did hit the post once. I didn't watch the second half but there were more big saves and more shots to the post. The goal was a nice move and I wish we had seen more of that in the first half (speed to get behind the defense and cross low). Saturday is against Colombia, who are the up and comers in CONMEBOL and will be tough. The last group match is Tuesday against Panama.
2nd match is against Colombia, in progress right now. Brazil with an early lead on a bad pass from the keeper, Brazil stole the ball and made some nice passes to get Duda Santos in position to score. Tonight's line-up: Luciana, Antônia, Tarciane, Rafaelle, Yasmim, Duda Sampaio, Duda Santos, Adriana, Gabi Portilho, Gabi Nunes, Bia Zaneratto
Geyse, Debinha and Ary Borges came in just now, 20 mins into the second half. Geyse scored with a nice header from a free-kick, but it was called offside. Much more fun match to watch than against Porto Rico which was one-sided. Both teams have looked dangerous here, but Brazil better. Lots of pressing and winning the ball in the opponent's half (by both teams) but not enough at times in the final third to convert those dangerous situations. Also been a physical game with lots of yellow cards.
1x0 win. Much better opponent than Porto Rico though. The third match, against Panama, should be a win. Quarter-finals will be based on overall ranking of the 8 qualified teams. So winning three matches would be huge, it would put Brazil in the top 3 among qualified teams. However, the lack of goals virtually guarantees the 3 seed, because the US and Canada will also have 9 points, barring historic upsets. That means Brazil will face the 6th best team among those qualified to the next round.
Last group game is in progress. Brazil got an early goal from Geyse, 1x0 over Panama less than 10 minutes in. The USA lost to Mexico in an upset last night, which means that if Brazil win today they will temporarily be the best ranked quarter-finalist. Canada will probably win tomorrow and take number 1, leaving Brazil with the second seed. There's a very good chance Argentina will be the 7th best quarter-finalist and we will have Brazil x Argentina in the quarters.
3x0 at the half. All 3 goals scored before 25 minutes. At that pace Brazil had a chance of taking the top spot on goal difference, but Panama has adapted and slowed us down a bit. But it's all Brazil, hopefully more goals in the second half.
5x0 win. Brazil can only be 1st overall if Canada don't win. But Brazil have won the group and today was a very solid match. Let's see if they can make it to the final.
Canada won, so Brazil are confirmed the 2nd best team overall (9 points, lower goal difference). Our opponent will depend on the result of the last game, which just started, Paraguay x El Salvador. Could be one of those two, could be Argentina, depending on the outcome. EDIT: Brazil x Argentina will be our quarter-final matchup, on Saturday.
Today's matches: Canada beat Costa Rica 1x0 in overtime. They will play the winner of USA x Colombia, who play tomorrow. Brazil x Argentina is in progress 25mins in. Brazil are up 1x0, 19th minute goal by Yaya. Winner faces the winner of Mexico x Paraguay, who play tomorrow.
Final score: 5x1 Two goals in each half for Brazil, before Argentina got a really nice consolation goal. Then we got a late goal to make it five. Our keeper likes to roam a little too much and almost got burned early, even before we scored, and then got chipped on Argentina's goal. Mexico will be the favorites to win tomorrow and meet us in the semis.
Both semifinals are today. Brazil is playing right now and up 2x0 against Mexico. Brazil also up one player as Mexico had someone sent off for a foul that was denying a goal-scoring opportunity. The other semi is USA x Canada. Final is Sunday.
Brazil win 3x0, will meet Canada or the USA in the final. Brazil will be the underdog on Sunday, regardless of who makes it. I was worried after the first match against Porto Rico, Brazil were showing signs of not being able to break through on offense against a defensive team and showing some frustration. They did much better in the third match and against Argentina and Mexico in the knockouts. Against their strongest opposition, Colombia, they played a solid match and won 1x0. Still, they're a step behind USA and Canada in this hemisphere and with the evolution of teams in Europe, it's going to be a long time before they're favorites to win an Olympic or World Cup title. Would be awesome to win the Gold Cup though and hopefully a motivating performance to keep moving forward with the new coach.
USA wins on penalties after a 2x2 draw in extra time. The story of the game was the weather. The match was played in the same stadium as Brazil x Mexico, but by the time the USA x Canada match started, the pitch was waterlogged. They shouldn't have played in those conditions, at least not in the first half. Between extra time and the conditions, the US team will probably be pretty exhausted, but we'll see if that makes a difference in the final.
Don't typically tune into the women's game but I watched the 1st half. After 2 x 0 and a player up it was all over.
USA x Brazil final has just started. Much nicer weather today in San Diego for the final. Line-ups: USA Naeher, Emily Fox, Girma, Davidson, Dunn, Sam Coffey, Horan, Korbin Albert, Lavelle, Rodman, Alex Morgan Brazil Luciana, Antônia, Thaís Ferreira, Tarciane, Adriana, Duda Santos, Duda Sampaio, Yasmim, Gabi Nunes, Bia Zaneratto, Gabi Portilho
Half-time, USA up 1x0. Decent performance by Brazil, but without enough getting to the final third and being threatening to show for the possession. On the other hand, the few times the US has gotten forward, they have looked slightly more threatening and the goal came on a cross after a short corner kick, well headed in by Horan, who was just better at getting up and on the end of the cross. Still, Brazil can get something out of this match if they can put things together in the final third, but there's a trade-off and the US will try to take advantage of any pushing forward in the second half.
USA wins 1x0. Not a bad showing by Brazil, but they're behind in development and also on the physical side. You can imagine them upsetting the US under the right circumstances, but to be competing with the US, England and Spain, there's a big gap to bridge right now. Overall though, a really solid tournament. Dispatched the teams we were expected to, despite a shaky opening match with only 1 goal. Also beat the biggest direct rival again (Colombia) and, as far as I can tell stuck to the game plan in the final and fell short because we lack the tools right now to make that game plan threatening to a bigger team.