England 1-1 Brazil (4-2 on penalties): Player ratings as Lionesses edge Women's Finalissima
England beat Brazil 4-2 on penalties to win the first Women’s Finalissima at Wembley on Thursday night, following a tense 1-1 draw over 90 minutes. It was a 30th game unbeaten for the Lionesses under the management of Sarina Wiegman.
More than 83,000 watched what was a cliched game of two halves, with Ella Toone opening the scoring in the first half. But Andressa Alves netted a deserved Brazil equaliser in the 93rd minute.
Mary Earps got a big hand to Brazil’s first penalty without keeping it out, but spectacularly saved the second and then goaded skipper Rafaelle to smash the third against the bar. Toone had earlier seen hers saved by Leticia, but Euro 2022 final hero Chloe Kelly drilled in the decisive fourth.
The Lionesses utterly dominated the ball in the first half. Despite the technical quality in their lineup, Brazil seemed determined to keep things tight at the back and not over stretch themselves by piling forward. With so little space to play, it posed a problem for the hosts early on and could even provided a blueprint for teams looking to frustrate the European champions at the World Cup.
Keira Walsh was a little redundant in the middle of the pitch, putting more focus on the likes of Lucy Bronze and Lauren James on the right and Lauren Hemp on the left to make something happen.
Bronze was a real driving force, at times able to play like a winger rather than a full-back and effectively becoming the extra attacker that gave England hope of cracking the code. The Barcelona defender’s drive brought a good diving save out Brazil goalkeeper Leticia, while also played in James to sweep the ball into the net half an hour – an offside flag ruled it out.
Before that, Bronze had played the perfect final pass for Toone to break the deadlock. She combined with former Manchester City teammate Georgia Stanway to engineer the space and then pulled it back to Toone in space in the middle of the box for a clinical finish into the bottom corner.
England had further chances before half-time, with a Hemp header straight at Leticia and a clever first-time shot from Alessia Russo also saved by the Brazilian stopper. The visitors really struggled to make anything of note, but for a vital block from Jess Carter to deny Geyse.
But Pia Sundhage made changes to the Selecao at half-time, both in personnel and shape, suddenly making them much more expansive and adventurous. England didn’t know how to respond and were also guilty of losing the ball too cheaply as well – that was how Geyse got her chance to rifle a powerful drive that Earps parried into the air and onto the top of the crossbar.
Geyse caught Alex Greenwood hesitating in possession too close to her own goal, but what should have been the killer pass across goal for a tap-in was just about intercepted by Leah Williamson. At the other, Georgia Stanway had England’s best chance since half-time with a powerful shot saved.
As the clock ticked down, the Lionesses managed to wrestle back a little control – the arrivals of Chloe Kelly and Rachel Daly off the bench did help in that respect by giving Brazil something else to think about. But just as it looked as though they had done enough, the equaliser came.
Overall, it was nothing less than they deserved, working the ball into position down the right. The cross from Adriana was unusually spilled by Earps and the rebound smashed in by Alves, in the right place at the right time to take full advantage and force the shootout.
Penalty shootout
England: Stanway (scored), Toone (missed), Daly (scored), Greenwood (scored), Kelly (scored)
Brazil: Adriana (scored), Tamires (missed), Rafaelle (missed), Kerolin (scored)
England player ratings (4-3-3)
GK: Mary Earps - 8/10 - Made an important save from Geyse when Brazil were on top early in the second half. Will be disappointed spilling the ball for the late equaliser but then more than made up for it with her role in the shootout.
RB: Lucy Bronze - 8/10 - Played like an extra winger in the first half and seemed to be at the heart of everything England were creating. Had to do a lot more defending after half-time.
CB: Leah Williamson (c) - 8/10 - Made a hugely important interception to deny a certain goal when Brazil were in the ascendancy. Displayed a good range of passing.
CB: Alex Greenwood - 6/10 - Good distribbution as always, but inexplicably caught in possession in a bad area that could easily have resulted in a goal. Did score in the shootout though.
LB: Jess Carter - 6/10 - Made an important block when tracking Geyse. A more defensively functional performance than that of Bronze on the other side.
CM: Georgia Stanway - 6/10 - Worked well in the right channel with Bronze and James in the first 45. Drowned a little after that but did force Leticia into a good save in the second half.
CM: Keira Walsh - 5/10 - Struggled to find the space to pick her usual passes when Brazil blocked up in the first half and didn't have the impact she is capable of.
CM: Ella Toone - 7/10 - Scored an excellent opening goal, before fading from the game. Will be gutted that her penalty in the shootout was saved.
RW: Lauren James - 7/10 - Had a goal ruled out for offside. Much better in the first half than second.
ST: Alessia Russo - 6/10 - Put in a shift as always, never scared to run wide to try and pull the Brazil defence out of position. Didn't have many real chances of her own.
LW: Lauren Hemp 6/10 - Had the pace to stretch Brazil but the final ball wasn't always there.
Substitutes
SUB: Chloe Kelly (74' for James) - 7/10
SUB: Rachel Daly (74' for Russo) - 7/10
SUB: Katie Robinson (88' for Hemp) - N/A
Manager
Sarina Wiegman - 7/10 - Her team found a way to beat Brazil's shape and still create chances in the first half, but the visitors switched things up to take control. Waited a while to go to her bench, yet it did make a positive difference when she did.