World Cup Group F: Brazil and France have eyes on late runs in the tournament

Brazil

Overview

Brazil enter the tournament still searching for their first world title. The team were beaten finalists in 2007 but have disappointed in the tournaments since, falling at the quarter-final stage in 2011 and the last 16 in 2015 and 2019. But a new generation under Pia Sundhage are optimistic that this time can be different. Perhaps unencumbered by the pressure felt by previous teams, this young group went unbeaten in claiming the 2022 Copa América, with their versatility a key asset. Antônia, Kathellen and Ary Borges, for example, all played in multiple positions. “I’m there for whatever she [Pia Sundhage] needs,” said Borges.

The team no longer rely so heavily on the legendary trio of Marta, Cristiane, and Formiga, with only Marta in the squad for this tournament. The No 10 now acts as a source of support and inspiration for the younger players in the group and Sundhage often makes a point of praising the now 37-year-old superstar.

In 2019 Brazil arrived at the World Cup on the back of nine consecutive defeats but their form in the lead-up to the tournament has been much better this time around. After going unbeaten for 10 games in 2022, the team were impressive against England and Germany in April, losing to the Lionesses on penalties after a resilient display in the Finalissima at Wembley and beating a strong German side 2-1 in Nuremberg. “We have taken big steps in these four years,” said Sundhage. “We’ve brought in new players, and I think we are in a good place.”

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The coach

Pia Sundhage is one of the most successful coaches in the women’s game, having won two Olympic golds and a World Cup with the US plus an Olympic silver with Sweden. She took over Brazil in 2019 with the mission to rejuvenate the team and re-establish them as a leading force among the world’s top teams. In her nearly four years in charge, Sundhage has called up more than 90 players and formed a squad mostly consisting of new talents. Her Brazil side is physically stronger, mostly playing in a 4-4-2 system, and puts an emphasis on technical players. She travels to Australia and New Zealand in a confident mood: “We have got a chance.”

Star player

Marta, a six-time winner of the Best Fifa Women’s Player award, leads the squad in her sixth World Cup. A key figure on and off the field, she is regarded as one of the best players of all time. This will be her final World Cup and she would love to sign off by winning the trophy for the first time. Her team-mates have made a pact: “We are taking inspiration from what Argentina did for Messi; we want to do the same for Marta,” said Kerolin.

Rising star

At just 17 years old, Aline Gomes has a huge future. The attacking midfielder has explosive physicality, serious dribbling skills and speed. Has come through the ranks at Ferroviária and made her international debut against England at Wembley in April.

Did you know?

Gabi Nunes always wanted to be a footballer, but she never imagined she would play alongside her biggest inspiration. When she was younger, she used the password “Marta in the future” for her social media accounts and, like many Brazilian girls, dreamed of meeting the Brazil No 10. They are now team-mates.

Position of women’s football in Brazil?

Women’s football was banned in Brazil for nearly 40 years by law. As a result, the sport still grows slowly in the country. The 2019 World Cup was a turning point and in the last four years the domestic league has gained more visibility with matches broadcast on television. Clubs have started to invest more in their women’s teams, attracting more fans to games and setting new attendance records.

Realistic goal at the World Cup?

Reaching the semi-finals is the target, though the recent performances against England in the Finalissima and the friendly match against Germany showed that Brazil can dream bigger. “They are very good and prepared to do anything,” said Sundhage.

Written by Amanda Porfirio and Mariana Santos and translated by Adrielle Farias for Fut das Minas.

France

Overview

While women’s football continues to grow, it still suffers from a lack of surprise results at the upper level of the international game. France qualified for the tournament as a group winner from Uefa, winning all 10 of their matches. Among UEFA’s nine group winners, only Germany and Italy failed to go undefeated. Since sealing qualification in September, results have been somewhat mixed for France. With Corinne Diacre still at the helm, they lost a pair of friendlies to Sweden and Germany, but have since recovered to beat Norway and win the Tournoi de France.

Since Diacre’s dismissal following ongoing enmity between the manager and several top players, they have played three friendlies, overwhelming Colombia, edging an injury-hit Canada before comfortably beating Ireland. New manager Hervé Renard will have to contend with several absences through injury, particularly to the team’s forward line, as both Delphine Cascarino and Marie-Antoinette Katoto are unavailable for the tournament. To this end, Renard will look to rely on the veteran striker Eugénie Le Sommer, the country’s all-time leading scorer, to lead the line and as such, the team’s propensity to play a more flowing style of attacking football may be more limited.

At the back, Wendie Renard will again be vital, and with the underrated Juventus goalkeeper Pauline Peyraud-Magnin in goal, defence will be one of Les Bleues’ strong suits. This solid mentality also extends to the team’s outlook vis-a-vis their goals for their time in Australia. With Renard, Le Sommer and several other players in their thirties, the team have been ambitious about exceeding their past performances in the tournament, with Chelsea’s Ève Périsset saying on Friday, “It’s up to us to prepare ourselves well to reach our goal, the last four.”

The coach

Herve Renard replaced the controversial (but relatively successful) Corinne Diacre in March, but has yet to really put his stamp on the team. Despite having no previous experience in charge of a women’s team, he does have a raft of experience at international level, and has also overachieved in tournaments on short notice in the past, including winning the Africa Cup of Nations with Zambia in 2012. At the international level, Renard has often played a 4-2-3-1, but has experimented with three at the back as well. For France, he should favour the former, but could also play with three in midfield.

Star player

Wendie Renard from Lyon will have plenty of veteran leadership alongside her in the form of players like Eugénie Le Sommer and Amandine Henry, but given that both have been out of favour in recent years, Renard will be the linchpin for her country in what could be her final World Cup. Physically imposing and elegant on the ball, her leadership and aerial prowess at set pieces make her vital at both ends of the pitch, and if France are to reach their aims in this tournament, her strong play will no doubt be instrumental.

Rising star

Just 19, Vicki Bècho was quietly impressive for the league champions Lyon this season. Her return of two goals and four assists may not catch the eye, but Bècho achieved these numbers in relatively limited minutes. A live wire on the pitch, she is able to operate on either flank, or through the middle, using her outstanding technical ability. She also brings exceptional numbers in terms of her ability to press as well, and looks to be an ideal option to disrupt a match late on.

Did you know?

Lyon’s Amel Majri became the first active French international to return to the pitch after becoming a mother. Her daughter, Maryam, will turn one during the tournament, on July 5th, but she’s already a part of the set-up for Les Bleues, having joined the team at their April camp at Clairefontaine.

Standing of women’s football in France?

D1 Féminin is one of Europe’s top leagues, led by Olympique Lyonnais and Paris Saint-Germain, but with a cadre of other strong teams as well, including up-and-coming Paris FC. The national team’s matches and the league are broadcast domestically by Canal+, France Télévisions and M6, all national channels. Moreover, the league also has strength in depth, as evidenced by five domestically based players who play at clubs apart from those two having been called up.

Realistic aim at the World Cup?

France have reached at least the quarter-finals of each of the last three World Cups, and will aim to get as far in this edition. The veteran players themselves are keenly aware that this may be their last chance at silverware, with Le Sommer recently expressing a goal of reach the last four, saying, “It’s a big goal, and we know it’s going to be difficult but we have to aim high and have ambitions given the level of our team.”

Written by Eric Devin for Get French Football News

Jamaica

Overview

They are no longer the only Caribbean team to qualify for the Women’s World Cup, but Jamaica’s Reggae Girlz will be the first from the region to make a second-consecutive appearance at the finals. Ranked number 43 in the world, they are a much more formidable group than that of 2019 and the squad features several US- and England-born players with Jamaican heritage that were not a part of the team which made an appearance in France.

The squad is similar to the one that competed in the qualifiers, winning all but two games – a 5-0 group stage loss to the United States and a 3-0 semi-final loss to Canada – at the Concacaf Women’s Championship in Mexico. During that tournament, Jamaica registered a 1-0 win over the host nation and also bettered Haiti 4-0 and Costa Rica 1-0 on their way to a third-place finish.

In total, the Jamaicans scored 30 goals and conceded 10 between the first phase of qualifying and the Concacaf championship and were again led by the talismanic striker Khadija “Bunny” Shaw, who ended the qualifiers with 12 goals.

Since then, the head coach Lorne Donaldson has brought in a few young prospects in 19-year-old goalkeeper Liya Brooks, 18-year-old Solai Washington, 19-year-old Kameron Simmonds and 22-year-old Peyton McNamara, all of whom impressed in the lead-up to the World Cup.

Jamaica have always banked on their speed and athleticism to open up opposing defences, particularly from the wide areas and it will certainly be more of the same in Australia and New Zealand, especially with the addition of fleet-footed players Washington, Simmonds and Kalyssa van Zanten, who can be lethal from the bench.

Still, Shaw, as always, will be the focal point in the attack and, much like she did at the 2019 showpiece when she assisted Havana Solaun to score a historic first goal against Australia, she could make a difference against their more illustrious Group F opponents if is she is able to get on the ball close enough to goal.

The defence has not always been the team’s strong point and while Donaldson and his assistants have done their best to beef up the backline, it basically remains the same as that of 2019, with the exception of Tottenham goalkeeper Rebecca Spencer and right-back Tiernny Wiltshire. Strong performances can be expected from the former captain Konya Plummer, who recently returned from maternity leave, but is looking raring to go. Much is also expected of her fellow defender Allyson Swaby, who is strong in the air and resolute on the ground.

Without doubt Jamaica remain one of the biggest underdogs at the World Cup, but they are certainly not going to the tournament accepting defeat, especially with the 2019 experience now under their belts.

The coach

Lorne Donaldson was born and raised in Jamaica where he started his playing career at Kingston College and Cavalier FC, before moving to the United States where he entered Metropolitan State University of Denver (he was inducted into MSU Denver’s Hall of Fame in 1995). He went on to play for the Denver Kickers, where he won the 1983 National Amateur Cup, and Jamaica.

He later started his coaching career as an assistant at Metro State Roadrunners in 1983 and has not looked back since, managing Colorado Foxes, Colorado Rapids and Real Colorado Foxes, along the way.

Donaldson was introduced to the national women’s programme on the recommendation of ambassador for Jamaican women’s football Cedella Marley in 2014, along with previous head coach Hue Menzies and the two guided the Reggae Girlz to their historic qualification in 2019.

Both later left the programme for various reasons that involved the Jamaica Football Federation, but Donaldson expressed a willingness to return provided the conditions were different.

In July last year, he replaced Vinimore “Vin” Blaine at the helm, a few weeks ahead of the crucial Concacaf Championship, after the players released a letter expressing dissatisfaction with Blaine’s leadership.

Star player

The Guardian’s first female Footballer of the Year in 2018, the first player from the Caribbean to win the Concacaf Player of the Year Award in 2022, and Jamaica’s all-time leading scorer with 56 goals, Khadija “Bunny” Shaw’s career is one of bumps, bruises and of course, tremendous success.

The 6ft striker’s physicality and speed of thought had set her up for a dazzling career from a young age – aged 14 she played for Jamaica’s under-15, under-17 and under-20 teams. She made her debut for the senior side on August 23rd, 2015, scoring once in a 6-0 win over the Dominican Republic. She has lost siblings to violence and accidents but used those tragedies to fuel her passion for football.

During the 2019 World Cup in France, Shaw signed a two-year contract with FC Bordeaux and ended her second league season with 22 goals and seven assists in 20 matches, winning the top goalscorer award. She then joined Manchester City where the now 26-year-old continues to show her class, scoring 31 goals in 30 games last season and being named the club’s player of the year.

Rising star

At 18 years old, the US-born midfielder Solai Washington is the youngest member of the squad and is one of the up-and-coming players to look out for at the World Cup. Still in high school going into her senior year, Washington first joined the set-up at a camp in Florida this year and hasn’t looked back. She possesses great ability and works hard on and off the ball in a manner that belies her age.

Did you know?

Thirteen of Jamaica’s 23-member squad will be making their first World Cup appearances. That number includes the five England-born players – Rebecca Spencer, Vyan Sampson, Atlanta Primus, Drew Spence and Paige Bailey-Gayle. Also of note is that Cheyna Matthews, like she did in 2019, has returned shortly after giving birth to make the World Cup squad.

Standing of women’s football in Jamaica

Women’s football in Jamaica came to life in 1991 when the Reggae Girlz played their first international match against Haiti, losing 1-0. Since then, they have become one of the top teams in the region, and currently boast their second highest ever Fifa ranking at 43. They achieved their highest ever ranking at 42 last year.

There have been bumps on the road, however, and in 2010 the women’s programme as well as the women’s Olympic programme were disbanded by the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF). At that point, they were at their lowest ranking of 128 but the country was later removed from Fifa’s world rankings after three years of inactivity.

The programme was restarted in 2014 with the support of Cedella Marley, the daughter of the late Bob Marley. Marley’s robust fundraising efforts eventually helped the Reggae Girlz achieve their historic World Cup qualification.

Realistic goal at the World Cup

While it seems a daunting task for Jamaica to get out of Group F and into the last 16, they are expected to prove more competitive than they did in 2019 and the collective goal is to at least take points off one of France or Brazil. If they can do that, confidence is high that they will get the better of Panama in their final group game. So the realistic aim for the team known for its stubborn determination and passion is to prove their doubters wrong by getting beyond the group stage.

Written by Sherdon Cowan for Sportsmax.tv

Panama

Overview

Panama’s journey to their first World Cup appearance began at the 2018 Concacaf Championships, where a defeat to Jamaica on penalties in the third-place playoff meant they missed out on qualification for France 2019. That tournament, though, was a watershed for players such as Lineth Cedeño, Karla Riley, Hilary Jaén, Yenith Bailey, Marta Cox and Wendy Natis, who have played a key role in getting Panama to the big show this time around.

The road was not easy and Panama were forced into the intercontinental playoffs in February this year. Papua New Guinea were seen off 2-0 in the semi-finals before a meeting with Paraguay in the final. Cedeño’s 75th-minute header was enough for a 1-0 win and a history-making qualification. “We will prepare 10 times better because we will face the best in the world,” said the manager Nacho Quintana, who took over in 2021. “We will measure ourselves against Brazil and France and this should keep us even more motivated.”

Apart from leading the Panama to their first Women’s World Cup, Quintana has also fought for equal opportunities and salaries between the men’s and women’s teams. He likes to play a 5-4-1 formation, and says the World Cup “is the beginning of the real project we have”.

The tournament will be a learning experience for the squad. Results in the warm-up matches have not been great and included a 7-0 defeat against Spain, so there is little chance of the side qualifying from the group stage. However, in a World Cup there are always teams that surprise, and Panama could be one of them.

The coach

Before joining Panama, Ignacio “Nacho” Quintana was a technical assistant for the Nicaragua women’s team, and coached at teams such as Reforma Athletic Club and Lioness FC. Born in Mexico City, Quintana says he retired from playing at the age of 18 and immediately turned his attentions to coaching, though he also studied gastronomy before turning to football full-time, and eventually earned the A-license as a technical director. Says he wants his team to play with a smile during the tournament. “We can’t lose that happiness,” he told fifa.com. “That’s always our number one rule because that happiness which runs through the country, which you get a sense of in every street when you’re in Panama, is something we need to convey out on the pitch so that the people of Panama feel we’re representing them properly.”

Star player

Marta Cox is the star of the team. The midfielder was introduced to football by her aunt Raiza Gutierrez, who was captain of the national team in the late 1990s, and made her debut for Panama’s under-20 team aged just 14. She has gone on to win the league title with Chorrillo FC and CD Universitario, and became the first Panamanian player to win the Costa Rica women’s league when with Alajuelense. In 2021 she became the first Panamanian to play in the Mexican Women’s MX League with Club León and in 2022 the first Panamanian to play for Pachuca Femenil, where she shares a dressingroom with elite players such as Spain’s Jenni Hermoso. Cox is an idol for girls from poor neighbourhoods who see in her as an inspiration that it is possible to travel the world and play football regardless of social class.

Rising star

A move to Europe in the near future is not out of the question for 18-year-old Deysiré Salazar. The player from Colón has excelled for the national side since making her debut in 2020 and is already a league champion with her club side Tauro. She could go on to be one of the most important players in Panamanian football history, and is on the radar of clubs in the US.

Did you know?

Forward Karla Riley – nicknamed “the Empress of Goal” – wears different coloured boots while playing in support of children with Down syndrome.

Standing of women’s football in Panama

Panamanian women’s football has had many changes, some negative and others very positive, but today there are infant and youth leagues and there are more and more academies and teams dedicated to women’s football. The semi-professional Women’s Football League (LFF), founded in 2017, seeks to provide a base for the players, but faces challenges such as lack of broadcasting. Furthermore, the fact that there is only one tournament a year, in contrast to the two tournaments in men’s football, limits the development of the 398 registered players.

Realistic goal

The main aim is to leave a plant a seed, either as a group or individually, for future World Cups. The Panamanian Soccer Federation president Manuel Arias has highlighted the potential for inspiring the next generation of players. “I want Panamanian football to have professional contracts, for the players to be high-performance athletes and to make a living from soccer like the European players,” said Marta Cox.

Written by José Miguel Domínguez Flores