The women’s team secured their place in the semi-finals of the women’s football tournament at the Paris Olympic Games (France) after defeating the home team 1-0, this Saturday (3) at the La Beaujoire stadium, in Nantes.
VICTORY AND CLASSIFICATION! 🇧🇷
IT’S BRAZIL IN THE SEMIFINAL OF THE PARIS OLYMPICS! HOW PROUD! THIS IS BRAZIL! 💚💛 pic.twitter.com/hlPzzncTo1
— Women’s National Football Team (@SelecaoFeminina) August 3, 2024
With this result, Brazil broke an uncomfortable streak, as they defeated France for the first time in history. Until then, there had been eleven games between the teams, with seven victories for the Europeans and four draws.
Now, to seek a place in the final, Brazil will face another major challenge: Spain, the current women’s world champion and the team that defeated the Brazilian national team 2-0 last Thursday (31) in a match valid for the last round of the group stage of the Olympic tournament. The Spanish team’s place in the semifinals was secured with a 4-2 victory in the penalty shootout over Colombia after a 2-2 draw in the 90 minutes. The semifinal match will be played next Tuesday (6), starting at 4 pm (Brasília time), at the Velódrome stadium in Marseille.
French domain
The match began with clear French dominance, who used their superior technical quality to create the best opportunities before half-time. The clearest one came after just 15 minutes, when Lorena saved a penalty taken by Karchaoui, after the referee awarded the penalty in the 11th minute when Tarciane brought down Cascarino inside the Brazilian area. This was the second penalty saved by Lorena in the Paris Games, the first having been in the 2-1 defeat to Japan in the second round of the group stage.
In addition, France managed to hit the crossbar with a shot in the 39th minute. After a corner kick by full-back Bacha, defender Mbock almost scored. The team led by coach Arthur Elias, however, managed to create little in the first 45 minutes.
Gabi decisive
In the final stage, the panorama of the match changed little, but Brazil managed to hold on until they found an opportunity to overcome the strong defense of the home team. And that opportunity came in the 36th minute, when Gabi Portilho received the ball in depth, took advantage of the lack of definition in the French defense and advanced to beat goalkeeper Picaud.
THE WOMEN’S TEAM IS QUALIFIED FOR THE SEMI-FINALS OF THE PARIS OLYMPICS! THIS IS BRAZIL! LET’S GO! 💚💛 pic.twitter.com/CRsXhRfrpd
— Women’s National Football Team (@SelecaoFeminina) August 3, 2024
In the 44th minute, goalkeeper Picaud made a clear mistake when clearing the ball and Gabi Portilho had the freedom to enter the penalty area and hit the post, missing a clear opportunity to extend the lead. From then on, coach Arthur Elias’ team held on to the advantage until the final whistle.
