How good are Brazil and how far can they go at the Women’s World Cup?
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
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