There are exactly 99 days left until the debut of the Women’s National Team at the Paris Olympic Games. The CBF has prepared a guide with all the information you need to know about Brazil’s participation in the global competition.
Brazil punches ticket to Paris
The Warriors of Brazil secured qualification for the Paris Olympic Games at the 2022 CONMEBOL Copa America in Bucaramanga, Colombia. On that occasion, the team defeated Colombia 1-0, claiming their eighth title in the continental competition.
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Arthur Elias in charge
Since the arrival of coach Arthur Elias in September 2023, the team has achieved good results. In these seven months, the coach has already led Brazil to the final of the first Women’s Gold Cup, a competition held in March with a format similar to the Olympics. In that tournament, the Warriors of Brazil won five matches (against Puerto Rico, Colombia, Panama, Argentina, and Mexico) and finished as runners-up after the final against the United States.
Furthermore, in the team’s most recent challenge at the SheBelieves Tournament in April of this year, Brazil had the opportunity to face two opponents who will be at the Olympics: Canada and Japan. In the first match, the team was defeated in a penalty shootout by 4-2. However, in the match against Japan, the Brazilian team triumphed, also in a penalty shootout. This time, Lorena was the standout player, making penalty saves during the match.
Testing in the Women’s National Team
One of the coach’s proposals was to give opportunities to new players in the Women’s National Team. In just five announced squads, the coach called up 47 athletes. Of these, eight players made their debut for the main national team.
Since his first call-up, Arthur Elias has not repeated the team’s formation during matches. In the Gold Cup, for example, there were six different formations in six matches.
Format of the competition
The Olympic football tournament begins on July 25, one day before the opening ceremony of the Games. The grand final will be on August 10. In total, there will be 12 teams, with 18 athletes per delegation. The competition will be held in seven French cities: Paris, Saint-Étienne, Nantes, Nice, Bordeaux, Lyon, and Marseille.
The top two teams from each group, as well as the top two third-placed teams, will advance to the knockout stage. The other teams will compete in the quarterfinals, semifinals, third-place match, and final. All matches will be played in a single round.
Brazil is in Group C, alongside Nigeria, Japan, and Spain. The team debuts on July 25 against the African team in Bordeaux. They will then face Japan on July 28 in Paris, and return to Bordeaux for the final group stage match against Spain on July 31.
Check out the schedule for the Warriors of Brazil’s matches at the Paris Olympics:
Brazil vs. Nigeria
Date: July 25 (Thursday), 9 PM (local time)/ 4 PM (Brasília time)
Venue: Bordeaux Stadium, Bordeaux (FRA)
Brazil vs. Japan
Date: July 28 (Sunday), 5 PM (local time)/ 12 PM (Brasília time)
Venue: Parc des Princes, Paris (FRA)
Brazil vs. Spain
Date: August 31 (Wednesday), 5 PM (local time)/ 12 PM (Brasília time)
Venue: Bordeaux Stadium, Bordeaux (FRA)
Zagallo documentary
Sambafoot Series has launched a new documentary about the football legend Zagallo. Known as ‘Velho Lobo’ and as superstitious as it gets, Zagallo helped shape what Brazilian football is nowadays – as a player and as a coach. The first episode is available in Sambafoot’s Youtube channel and the series will receive weekly releases to tell this legend’s life story.
