Canadians rally to beat Brazil
ATLANTA Canada recovered from a poor first half Saturday, defeating Brazil 4-2 in a penalty shootout at the SheBelieves Cup to earn a date with the U.S. in Tuesday’s final.
The 10th-ranked Brazilians pressed hard and had the upper hand for most of a match that did not see the best of No. 9 Canada until late in the game with centre back Vanessa Gilles scoring to tie the contest at 1-1 in the 77th minute.
Canadian coach Bev Priestman liked the response from her team if not all of the performance.
“It wasn’t the perfect game but I’m really happy with the mindset of the group to pull through and do whatever it takes win,” she said.
It was a second straight shootout for the Canadians, who lost the CONCACAF W Gold Cup semifinal 3-1 on penalties to the U.S. last month after extra time finished tied at 2-2.
On Saturday, Canada scored four straight from the penalty spot after Ashley Lawrence missed high to open the shootout.
Adriana Leon, Jade Rose, Simi Awujo and Julia Grosso scored from the penalty spot with Grosso slotting home the decisive kick, as she did in the final of the Tokyo Olympics.
Cristiane and Tarciane scored in the shootout for Brazil, which brought on goalkeeper Lorena in second-half stoppage time, replacing Tai Borges for the shootout. Kailen Sheridan stopped Marta while Antonia shot wide.
“(Sheridan) can makes saves I’ve not seen other goalkeepers do,” said Priestman, who cited the “bravery” of 20-year-old Awujo and 21-yearold Rose to step up in the shootout.
Brazil led 1-0 at the half and should probably have had a bigger lead after a strong start at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The Brazilians forced a string of turnovers and were quick to launch counterattacks.
Brazil went ahead when American referee Tori Penso pointed to the penalty spot after Rose took a Brazilian down. Tarciane, a 20year-old centre back, hammered a shot up the middle that beat Sheridan in the 22nd minute.
The Canadians offered more in the late stages and pulled even on Gilles’ header off a Jessie Fleming free kick. It was her fourth goal for Canada.
Brazil will face No. 7 Japan in the third-place match Tuesday.
Priestman said the Canadians had to tweak their tactics at halftime, bringing in an extra midfielder to try to slow down the South Americans.
“We had to adapt,” Priestman said. “It wasn’t pretty, it wasn’t perfect. We needed this. I said in the (post-game) huddle, ‘What’s hard for us is good for us.’ ”
In the earlier game at the same venue, the fourth-ranked Americans recovered from conceding a goal in the first minute to beat Japan 2-1 on a 77th-minute Lindsay Horan penalty before 50,644, the largest crowd for a U.S women’s friendly on home soil.