The Brazilian women’s football team said goodbye with victory and a great performance in the first half of She Believes, a friendly tournament played in the United States and which serves as preparation for the Olympic Games in Tokyo (Japan). This Wednesday (24), the team led by Pia Sundhage beat Canada 2-0 at Exploria Stadium, Orlando, in the third and final round.

#Women’s National Team ends her participation in the She Believes tournament with a victory! The team beat Canada, thanks to goals from Debinha and Júlia Bianchi. Thanks girls! ⚽🇧🇷

Photo: Sam Robles / CBF pic.twitter.com/hmeGTxFfSd

– CBF Futebol (@CBF_Futebol) February 24, 2021

With victories over Canada and Argentina (4-1) and a defeat against the United States (2-0), Brazil will win the She Believes title if the North Americans (two victories) lose to the Argentines in the match that ends the championship. at 9 p.m. (Brasilia time) this Wednesday. If the hosts win or draw, they win the friendly tournament and the Brazilians come second.

To face the Canadians, Pia maintained the formation with three defenders in a line of four defenders. Without Kathellen, who has a cruciate ligament injury in her right knee, and Antônia, suffering from swelling in her right thigh, Tainara was chosen to play on the right flank, with Bruna Benites and Rafaelle forming the central duo.

In midfield, Julia Bianchi and Adriana returned to the starting lineup, the main novelty of which was Ivana Fuso, a Salvadoran athlete, but who played for the youth teams of Germany, where she grew up. With attackers Bia Zaneratto and Ludmilla on the bench, Marta was brought forward to command the attacking sector with Debinha.

The changes have had an effect. The Brazilians increased their marking and made it difficult for their opponents to break out of the match. In the 14th minute, Adriana disarmed midfielder Jessie Fleming in the middle, played with Debinha, entered the box from the left and shot at the post. On the rebound, Debinha beat goalkeeper Stéphanie Labbé and scored first. The second goal almost arrived four minutes later, again with the participation of Adriana. The Corinthians player received the ball near the half-pipe and rolled with her heel towards Tamires, trying her luck from the outside, sending the ball close to the goal.

The pressure on the defenders also resulted in the second goal. In the 38th minute, after a fight in the penalty area involving Ivana and Marta, Julia Bianchi insisted on covering Gabrielle Carle, disarming her and finishing, increasing the score. In the 41st minute, striker Nichelle Prince tried to cover Bárbara, who advanced to clear a dangerous shot, but the goalkeeper saved the goal in Canada’s only real chance in the opening phase. In the 44th minute, Brazil almost scored a third with Adriana, who received it from Tamires on the left and hit the crossbar, thanks to a deflection from Labbé.

In the second half, Pia eliminated Debinha, Marta, Tamires, Tainara, Ivana and Andressinha and promoted the entries of Cristiane, Andressa Alves, Camilinha, Jucinara, Giovana and Bia Zaneratto respectively. With the changes in the last 45 minutes, Brazil started playing with two defenders and two full-backs again (although Camilinha, the left back, dropped to the right) and started to have a bigger team in attack, with two zone players.

The abundant movements, on both sides, gave more results to the Canadians. Unlike the first half, the Brazilians found themselves cornered and barely hampered the attack. Previously canceled, midfielder Janine Beckie led the offensive actions. Striker Adriana Leon, who came on at half-time, gave Camilinha a hard time. In the 38th minute, in the best opportunity of the rivals (and the last of the match), Beckie hit the post with a free kick and, in the rest, defender Shelina Zadorsky did not score because Bruna Benites saved the line.