There is extra motivation for Brazilians to win the Women’s World Cup this year. During a long overdue renewal process for the national team, the tournament in Australia and New Zealand may be the last one for Marta, the legendary No 10 often regarded as the best women’s football player in history. She is the top scorer in the history of World Cups with 17 goals and hopes to increase that number after her side open their campaign on 24 July.
Younger players in Pia Sundhage’s squad are not only eager to win the title for Marta, but also to demand improvements to the women’s game in Brazil. They are aware that what they achieve on the pitch will reflect on how the game is viewed by the public, the federation and young girls everywhere. Their hope is that, after this World Cup, the women’s game will see more investments and visibility than ever, so that Brazil will catch up with the European leagues and the National Women’s Soccer League in the US.
So, nearly four years after Sundhage’s arrival, what are Brazil’s chances? There is no question that, while the 37-year-old Marta has just recovered from an anterior cruciate ligament injury, other teammates have been doing really well both for their clubs and the national team to try to push the team to victory. The main challenge, at this point, is to get all 23 players on the same page.
“We have players in the United States, Kerolin has been scoring, Debinha has been scoring,” Sundhage told TV Globo. “We have players at this moment in the Brasileirão. It is so different. What we want is to have everyone together to improve their resistance and fitness, this is why we’ve been training here [in Brazil].” The coach was speaking before one of the training sessions with 15 players based in European leagues and the US. Brazil also have one game before the World Cup: a friendly against Chile in Brasília on Sunday (2.30pm BST).
Individually, they may be in a great moment. However, Brazil are eighth in Fifa’s women’s world rankings. They had two silver Olympic medals and a World Cup runner-up campaign in the 2000s, but since then the evolution of women’s football in different countries has left the seleção in a difficult position. The assumption that Brazilians are “football people” does not, necessarily, apply to the women’s game. So how can we have high hopes for a good World Cup, when the good old days of Marta, Cristiane and Formiga playing together are long gone?
As someone who has covered and followed the women’s game in Brazil for years, my expectations fluctuate between pessimistic and optimistic about 20 times a day as we approach the World Cup. I have watched England play a few times over the last year and they are a machine. The United States know in their bones how to win a World Cup. Australia have home advantage. How can we top that?
One thing that Sundhage always says before and after every game is that the Brazilians need to learn how to push back. They may not be favourites, but they can do what they know and surprise the other side. And, after many challenging games, they were able to do that at some extent against England and Germany in the last friendlies, which made me way more hopeful for this World Cup.
“I think we’re a young team who had to play against the best to become one of the best. The last games were a sign that we’re on the right path. We want to win, but losses are a part of growth,” said Kerolin during an interview with the Equalizer recently. “We keep going for the next generations. If we always have Brazilians winning important titles and being great, it will be really important for young girls watching.”
Injured England captain Leah Williamson says she would give her other ACL for her team-mates to win the World Cup in her absence this summer.
The Lionesses travel to Australia and New Zealand next month aiming to build on their Euro 2022 success, but do so without Williamson after she suffered a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament playing for Arsenal in April.
Williamson, who, in partnership with immersive football entertainment venue TOCA Social, is fronting the 'Momentum' campaign aimed at driving participation in the women's game, is willing to go to extreme lengths to see Sarina Wiegman's team claim glory.
"I'd give my other ACL for England to win the World Cup," she said. "That's what I'll believe in until it isn't [possible]."
If the Lionesses can win the World Cup for the first time, they will build on the incredible legacy created by winning the European Championship last summer. PA Media
So as a women’s football journalist who covers, studies, analyses and supports the Brazilian women’s national team, I truly believe that we can, at least, reach the semi-finals. If they enter the pitch with confidence, they will be able to impose their own style. They will try to keep the ball, but if they lose it, they will fight like hell to get it back. They may concede a goal, but they’ll try as hard as they can to equalise. And, if they score, they surely will go for more.
Because that is precisely what past generations did, that is why Marta is so important to this day, and why we look up to our past generations. No matter how hard the fight was, they kept going. They fought so younger girls would see themselves on the pitch and dream to be like them.
We may see Marta score one more goal in a World Cup, or we may not. But no matter where Brazil get in this World Cup, I hope they show what we know they can do.
Recommended viewing
Rafa Mineira’s golaço from midfield is one to remember from the Brasileiro Feminino quarter-finals. The São Paulo player is known to score goals like this – she has done it previously with Ferroviária – but this one was special. São Paulo beat rivals Palmeiras 3-1 on their own pitch to reach the semi-finals.
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