Brazil coach Pia Sundhage said Friday the simplest way to beat France was to “put away our chances” as they seek revenge against the team that eliminated them at the last Women’s World Cup.
The South Americans were agonisingly dumped out of the 2019 tournament in the round of 16 by Les Bleues, going down 2-1 after extra time.
That defeat still reverberates, admitted midfielder Luana, who said lessons had been learned.
“It was definitely a bitter loss for us, the last World Cup,” said the Corinthians star, who was on the bench that day in Le Havre.
“What we can take from that match is that in big games like that Brazil is defined by the details.
“So we are going to focus on the set-pieces, have extra attention with the strongest players they have. We know these details will be important again, so we will be extra careful.”
Eighth-ranked Brazil set out their title credentials by blowing away debutants Panama 4-0 in a scintillating opening match in Adelaide, with Ary Borges scoring a sensational hat-trick.
They face a sterner test against world number five France — who were held to a goalless draw by Jamaica in their opener — in Brisbane on Saturday.
A victory would put Brazil through to the knockout phase again.
Sundhage, Brazil’s Swedish coach, said they were a different team to 2019, but the basics still applied.
“Not conceding goals is very important but at the end of the day it will be more important to score goals against France,” she said. “To put away our chances is what it is all about.
“If you do that and get a goal, the self-confidence and the team spirit will be very different and they will continue to play the way we want to play.
“The team is loud, there is a lot of confidence and they talk in a positive way that it (victory) is possible”, she added.
