Colombia vs Brazil: Dream Final in the Copa América Femenina

Brazil and Colombia will play the final of the Copa América Femenina next Saturday, the best possible duel for the title, as it will feature the two national teams that have by far been the best performers since the first day of competition. In addition, it will be a confrontation in which two different styles will converge.

The Alfonso López stadium in Bucaramanga will put face to face what seems to be the best match of all. Pía Sundhage's Brazil, with five wins in five games, plus 19 goals for and none against, versus the eleven with the greatest progress in this competition, Nelson Abadía's Colombia, which also has a perfect score with 14 goals for and only three against, they will meet on the field.

The final promises to be a fierce match in which the coffee makers will rely on the unconditional support of their people and their collective performance to try to beat a group of players with remarkable physical-technical power, and lethal when it comes to taking advantage of errors in the contrary. An almost perfect selection.

Collective Functioning: United Group

Colombia, despite being at home, did not start among the main favorites, and for many connoisseurs it was fortunate to be placed in Group A, without Brazil or Argentina, the two perennial candidates to win this championship. Time ended up showing the opposite.

The host team has gone out looking for the rival with intensity from the first minute, and although it has shown some defensive oversights, mainly in its debut against Paraguay, it has been solving them as the tournament has gone on. He has grown up with it. Colombia has also shown strength in attack, with 14 goals converted, at a rate of three for each game played, and very well distributed between Linda Caicedo, the team's main reference, as well as Daniela Arias, Daniela Montoya and Mayra Ramírez, who they have scored ten goals between the four.

It is a very balanced eleven in all its lines, which proved to be superior to at least eight teams that made up the tournament. Now he must face the toughest challenge. From the goalkeeper Catalina Pérez to the 9, Ramírez, they have had a very even cup in terms of performance, including the defensive line with Manuela Venegas, Jorelyn Carabalí, the aforementioned Arias and Mónica Ramos.

Special mention for Montoya's stupendous performance in the front row of midfielders and his dumbbell, Lorena Bedoya, in that area of the field. It is not impossible for Colombia to beat Brazil, but to do so all their lines will have to function almost perfectly, with enormous concentration. The locals could look for speed from the second half on having one more day of rest than their rivals.

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The Perfect Team?

There is no perfect team in any sport, but this version of the “scratch” is very close to it, especially speaking in terms of Conmebol. Its ninth place in the FIFA ranking, only surpassed by the United States and European teams, confirm this. Their rivals have not had any chance in this contest.

The Swedish school is a reference in women's world football. In fact, it was the first power in this division, and it still remains among the best teams on the planet (semi-finalists of this European Championship), thanks to the deep culture that its quarries have developed for ladies' football . Sundhage, the coach of Brazil, hails from that nation.

The Scandinavian manager has further empowered Brazilian players, historically talented but a step behind powerhouses like the United States, Sweden, Germany, Norway and the Netherlands, in terms of physicality and technique. Her previous experience managing the national teams of China, the United States and Sweden, always with good results, is the main strength of this selection.

Then there are those who execute, the soccer players. The offensive trident is lethal, with Adriana, Debinha and Beatriz, who have scored 12 goals between the three of them . The central De Souza and the lateral Tamires have been the two most solid defenders, Angelina stands out in midfield, while the secret weapon is Duda, the destabilizing number 10 who had the luxury of staying on the bench in the match semifinals.

The key to obtaining their eighth Copa América title will be to continue doing what they have done so far, impose their physical power on their rivals to create spaces and take advantage of them with speed and skill. The curiosity is to know how he will react if he is below the scoreboard, something that never happened until now in the event. As if that were not enough, on the bench there are two very successful soccer players like Geyse and Fe Palermo.

The Way to the Final

Both teams' route to the final was immaculate. The hosts swept Group A in which they beat Paraguay 4-2, Bolivia 3-0, Ecuador 2-1 and closed with a categorical 4-0 victory over Chile, a team that ultimately ranked fifth, to keep the last place in this area for the playoffs to the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. In the semifinals, they beat Argentina 1-0.

On the side of the "canarinhas" the story was even simpler. They began with a lapidary 4-0 win over Argentina that set off alarm bells throughout the competition. Later, they overwhelmed Uruguay 3-0, a disappointing Venezuela 4-0, and with reservations crushed weak Peru 6-0. All games by landslide, no more, no less. Paraguay presented them with greater resistance in the semifinals, but still fell 2-0.

The two finalists, together with the winner of the match for third place to be played this Friday, will be the representatives of Conmebol in the World Cup next year. The loser of that match, in turn, will go to the playoffs in search of his place with Chile.