Brazil served up a goal feast for the watching public in a hot sticky night in Hangzhou against favourites USA bringing new life into the hugely successful Women's World Cup tournament.

Tickets were cheap following China’s exit and there were empty seats in the Dragon stadium, but those who turned up were treated to a display of attacking football that put women’s football firmly on the map.

The Americans looked well prepared and attacked from the start looking for an early goal. Brazil soaked up the early pressure and counter-attacked down the left. After three minutes the game had the makings of a classic.

'In attack the USA resorted to the long ball game which Brazil were able to deal with comfortably'


USA played with a more attacking 4-4-2 formation reflecting their status as favorites and their unbeaten run of 51 games. But the gap between midfield and defence left them open to counter attacks.

In attack the USA resorted to the long ball game which Brazil were able to deal with comfortably. The USA were never allowed to settle and were made to fight for every ball, every pass, every throw in. This knocked the steam out of them and Brazil started to threaten with runs from both wings and a series of dangerous corners. Surprisingly the two USA strikers seemed to be playing on their own rather than together or with the rest of the team.

Perhaps it was a miscue from Brazil or perhaps it was deliberate, but the USA had to deal with an awkward near post corner from the right. Leslie Osbourne, perhaps intimidated by the previous kicks, dived desperately at the ball only to head it past her own goalkeeper.

Seven minutes later a pass along the wing went to a USA defender but Marta closed in fast and stole the ball. She cut inside and fired the ball in at the near post to make it 2-0. The game was effectively over when Christina Boxx was sent off for a second bookable offence following a cynical block on the left wing.

In the second half Brazil treated the crowd to a display of attacking football and curiously the USA failed to cover their left flank properly which meant that Marta had the freedom to interchange with the left back and dazzle the crowd with her tricks and skills.

Marta tormented the favourites by holding onto the ball and saying “come and get it” in the way that George Best did for Manchester United. This led to a nasty challenge from one of the American forwards who was lucky to stay out of the referee’s book. The final score was 4-0 but it could easily have been six or eight. Briana Scurry, in goal for America made a couple of excellent fingertip saves to keep the score reasonably respectable.

In Sunday’s final I predict that Germany won’t allow Brazil as much space to play as the USA did and the game will be less open but it’s a classic confrontation - Brazilian flair against German organisation - and one that should not be missed, even if there is something else on the other channel.

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