The coach of the Brazilian Women’s National Team, Arthur Elias, celebrated the victory in the opening of the Paris Olympic Games against Nigeria on Thursday afternoon (25) at the Stade de Bordeaux in Bordeaux, France. The Brazilians won 1-0, with striker Gabi Nunes scoring a stunning goal to ensure a strong start in the tournament.
“We knew it was a very difficult opponent, physically strong… A great team that doesn’t concede goals. In fact, in three of the four games they played in last year’s World Cup, they didn’t concede any goals and continued that way in the matches they played after the World Cup,” he said.
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“We had difficulties at the beginning and adjusted quickly. We scored a goal that was disallowed, and it was important to score the one that counted right after,” he added.
Although Brazil scored the winning goal in the first half, Arthur highlighted the performance of the team in the last 45 minutes, during which they were better and were not threatened by Nigerian attacks. In the first half, Lorena had to shine to defend the Brazilian goal.
“In the second half, we were superior; we knew Nigeria would come at us hard to seek the equalizer. But our defense performed very well and did not allow Nigeria clear goal opportunities,” he explained.
After the 1-0 victory, the Women’s National Team occupies the second position in Group C, tied on points with the Spanish team but with fewer goals scored (2 to 1). They now turn their attention to the match against Japan on Sunday (28) at 12 PM (Brasilia time) at the Parc des Princes in Paris. The Japanese team was defeated 2-1 by Spain in a comeback on Thursday, and Spain will also face Nigeria on Sunday at 2 PM at La Beaujoire in Nantes.
“It’s very good to start with a victory. Of course, there are always adjustments to be made. But now the focus shifts to Japan. We have a game plan to face Japan. We trained a lot in this aspect, and there are no easy games; all teams are strong and well-trained,” he stated.
