by The England Lionesses lifted the first-ever Finalissima trophy in front of 83,000 spectators at the Wembley Stadium after beating Brazil on penalties last Thursday. In a tale of two halves, Ella Toone broke the deadlock in a half dominated by England. However, Brazil were menacing in the second stint and Andressa Alves da Silva equalized in injury time to force a penalty shootout. A spectacle from start to finish, we get into what made the match a great watch and what it reflects about the teams’ chances going into the World Cup.
Brazil’s Back-Five and How England Prevailed
Coach Pia Sundhage and captain Rafaelle Souza made no mystery of their respect for England’s ability to get goals from aerial crosses, during the pre-match joint press conference. In fact, the winners of the Copa America started the match in a back-five which perhaps took many by surprise. The tactic denied Alessia Russo any chance of heading the ball into the net. Despite dominating possession, Sarina Wiegman’s team was forced to find another route to the goal.
The England Lionesses welcomed the challenge with open arms and found the net in the 23rd minute, thanks to a combination of pass and move between Lucy Bronze and Georgia Stanway. It got the Barcelona right-back behind the defence with time to pick out Ella Toone, who made no mistake with the finish.
As seen during England’s Euro 2022 success, it is evident that England’s number nine (then Ellen White, now filled by Alessia Russo in this case) is very much part of a forward group but not the only threat, which gives the opposition a challenge in denying them goals.
Despite Brazil falling behind, Pia Sundhage was full of praise for her team who were playing a relatively new system and who embraced it. On the other hand, she acknowledged that they did not exploit the space which the system allowed them. In fact, Brazil spent much of the first half penned into their own half and squandered possession too easily allowing England to build more pressure, albeit Wiegman’s team did not extend their lead which came back to haunt them.
Brazil’s 4-4-2 and High-Press
The Copa America winners were down but not beaten and in the second-half took the field with a different formation and a belief they could get back into the game. Besides switching from a back-five to a back-four, the team also pressed higher up the pitch. Instead of allowing England duo Keira Walsh and Georgia Stanway time on the ball in England’s half, the team in yellow cut the supply between the defence and the midfield, effectively nipping England’s attacks in the bud.
Brazil’s forwards then knocked on the door with purpose. A miscue in the 55th minute let England off the hook but was followed with a venomous shot by Barcelona’s Geyse just three minutes later, which Mary Earps palmed into the crossbar. A one-against-three situation followed, where Leah Williamson’s anticipation allowed her to make a crucial interception, but perhaps it was another testament to the inexperience of the Brazilian team in not being able to bury the goal.
As expected, England’s response to the high press was to launch balls to the forward line to chase behind the defence, but Sundhage’s team was ready for this too, and employed the offside trap to perfection. Even as Wiegman freshened the front line by bringing on Rachel Daly, Chloe Kelly and later on Katie Robinson, her team could not find the net again.
Brazil kept believing and ultimately deservedly got the equalizer in the dying minutes of injury time as Andressa Alves pounced on the rebound after Mary Earps spilled the ball, forcing a penalty shootout.
A Test of Mental Resilience
Penalties are always a test of nerves, but Brazil’s late equalizer meant that it also flipped emotions very late in the game. On Brazil’s side, they went from almost losers to giving themselves a strong chance to take the win. On the other hand, England were getting ready to celebrate but conceded late and crucially it involved a goalkeeper’s error. It could have set the team up for disaster had Earps not been resilient in the face of her mistake.
On Brazil’s part, Leticia did well to give her team a boost early in the shootout by saving Ella Toone’s penalty. However, Mary Earps responded by saving Tamaris Gomes’s penalty while Rafaelle Souza hit the crossbar, giving the lead back to England. Rachel Daly and Chloe Kelly then got the job done to seal the victory.
Taking Lessons to the World Cup
Despite the loss, Brazil will focus on the experience gained from the match and in fact, Sundhage was full of praise for her team for their tenacity in employing different formations in a high-pressure setting. The coach was also very erudite on the importance of a fighting attitude from start to finish if the team wants to do well in the World Cup.
England will be happy to notch another win and trophy but there is plenty to be taken on-board from the second half and also the penalty shoot-out. As the game showed, the World Cup promises a wide variety in styles of play which can throw a few unexpected hurdles. Though Wiegman’s troops are touted as one of the favourites, the match showed how things can swivel and that there is still plenty of work to do if they want to lift the ultimate prize.
