Brazil ratified its status as favorite and with a 1-0 win over Colombia was crowned champion of the Women’s Copa América for the eighth time in history on Saturday.
The “Canarinha” completed its perfect record in the tournament with a goal from Debinha, who at 39 minutes took a maximum penalty that she herself had caused against the defender Manuela Vanegas.
The Amazon striker signed five goals in the competition and reached 54 goals in 128 international matches with her national team.
The “cafeteras” had the support of nearly 23,000 people at the Alfonso López stadium in Bucaramanga and stood up to the current champions, who finished the championship with 20 goals scored and none conceded.
“Colombia played an extraordinary game, with their football, but we knew that a mistake was going to be the unbalance of the game,” said Colombia coach Nelson Abadía.
Brazil lost midfielder Angelina Alonso, who suffered an injury in the first moments of the match.
Despite the disadvantage on the scoreboard, the locals looked for a tie in the second half, especially with the speed of forward Linda Caicedo, 17, who ultimately won the award as the best player in the tournament.
“I’m leaving calmly, we’ve made a lot of progress,” said Colombia’s historic scorer, Catalina Usme. “It is not easy to make Brazil look bad. We did an extraordinary job.”
The Amazonians, who were crowned in the region for the fourth time in a row, had defender Rafaelle Souza and full-back Antonia Da Costa as their pillars in the rearguard.
“We knew it would be a very difficult game. We faced a great team, which had the support of its people”, said Antonia, who plays for the Spanish Levante.
The winners took home $1.5 million while the runners-up pocketed $500,000. In addition, both teams qualified for the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand and the 2024 Paris Olympics in the tournament.
“It was a very tactical and emotional game. I was satisfied with the defensive work of my players, who knew how to maintain the result”, said Sweden’s Pia Sundhage, who, in command of Brazil, became the first coach to win the Copa América Femenina.