Brazil Dominance and Panama Debut

Brazil vs Panama wrapped up the opening matches for Group F on July 24th, in a dramatic fashion. Following the Group F Jamaica vs France match on July 23rd that ended up in a 0-0 draw, Brazil beat Panama 4-0. While based off of the scoreline, it seems that Brazil dominated every aspect of the match, Panama also showed some hint of glimmer and hope for the future.

Brazil’s Kerolin and Panama’s Schiandra González challenge for the ball. Photo courtesy of @FoxSports/Twitter

For Panama, this match marked the first match and World Cup that the Panamanian Women’s National Team has featured in. Panama joins the Philippines, Ireland, Zambia, Haiti, Portugal, Vietnam, and Morocco in this feat.

Ary Borges after her first goal. Photo courtesy of @FoxSports/Twitter

Brazil showed absolute dominance in this match, and that is not stopping anytime soon. As a team, Brazil had 32 shots, 10 shots on target, 73% of ball possession with 573 passes and a pass accuracy of 85%. While the whole team had their foot on the gas, the player that stood out for Brazil the most was Ary Borges.

Borges was involved in all four of Brazil’s goals, scoring a hat trick and assisting Beatriz Zaneratto João’s goal in the 48th minute. Borges first goal in the 19th minute was headed in off of a beautiful cross from Debinha and while her goals in the 39th and 70th minutes were equally impressive, what stood out the most about Borges first goal is the raw emotion shown right after it was scored.

To no surprise, Ary Borges won the Player of the Match, which teammate and Brazilian GOAT, presented the trophy to her.

Marta presenting Ary Borges with the Player of the Match trophy. Photo Courtesy of @FoxSports/Twitter

In Panama’s debut match, they put up a strong fight against the strong Brazilian side. In the 58th minute, Panama’s Riley Tanner and Carina Baltrip-Reyes forced Brazilian Goalkeeper Letícia Izidoro to make a save after they broke through the Brazilian defense. Tanner was able to distribute a ball to Baltrip-Reyes that Baltrip-Reyes was able to place on frame.

The overall standout for Panama was Goalkeeper Yenith Bailey, because even though four goals were scored against her, that could have been a much larger number if she hadn’t stopped 6 more potential goals. Panama has great potential that was shown in this match that can be tapped into for the rest of their Group F matches.

After a Group F thriller of a game for Brazil, the current Group F standings are:

Brazil - 3 Points

France - 1 Point

Jamaica - 1 Point

Panama - 0 Points

It will be very interesting to see throughout the next matches for each team if the standings will stay the same, or if there will be a major upset.