Is Marta still in shape now – named the world’s best football player six times? To a very high degree.
In the premiere against China in Group F in the women’s football tournament, it took only nine minutes before Marta gave Brazil the lead. The star stayed ahead in the penalty area where the ball finally ended up after a post from the left and a nod from Debinha that went into the crossbar.
At the sideline, a jubilant Pia Sundhage, the national team captain for Brazil since 2019, jumped.
In the 22nd minute Debinha extended to 2-0 and the Brazilian dominance continued in the second half. With a quarter of an hour left to play, Marta put 3-0 from distance and before the final signal sounded, Andressa managed to make 4-0 from the penalty spot and Beatriz put the five after a change.
Pia Sundhages Brazil has thus got a taste start in the tournament. Sundhage has a good record as the national team captain during the Olympic Games. She led the USA to gold both in 2008 and 2012 – and Sweden to silver during the Rio Olympics 2016.
In Group E, Great Britain took a convincing 2-0 victory over Chile after two goals by Manchester City striker Ellen White.
Read more: Dream opening for Sweden in the Olympics – outclassed world champion USA
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