Brazil beats Australia 1-0

A second-half strike by Rosana earned Brazil a 1-0 victory over Australia in its opening match at the women’s World Cup on Wednesday.

The breakthrough in a hard-fought Group D match came in the 54th minute, when Cristiane capitalized on some scrappy Australian defending to head the ball to the 28-year-old Rosana, who took one touch past a defender before unleashing her shot past the helpless Melissa Barbieri.

Lisa De Vanna might have scored an equalizer but fired over in the 87th minute with only the goalkeeper to beat, and Australia also went close from a corner at the very end.

In the earlier Group D match, Emilie Haavi scored a late winner to give Norway a 1-0 victory over tournament newcomer Equatorial Guinea.

Brazil signaled its intent to attack when it lined up with three in defense, but Australia coped well with the likes of Cristiane and five-time FIFA player of the year Marta.

Marta started brightly, skipping past a number of challenges before putting in a cross in the third minute, and Servet Uzunlar’s interception was crucial a minute later with the 25-year-old Brazilian through on goal.

Rosana was unlucky to see her header land on the roof of the net in the ninth minute, after a flowing move instigated by Marta’s delightful chip forward.

The Australians showed they were not intimidated, however, with De Vanna displaying wonderful trickery on the left wing, and Elise Kellond-Knight playing the ball through the legs of a Brazilian before clearing from defense.

They might have scored from a free kick that caused panic in the Brazilian defense before Fabiana finally managed to clear in the 19th, while Andreia was forced to react to stop a good shot from Kyah Simon.

Brazil looked disjointed in the face of Australia’s pressing game, and passes went astray as it was forced to rely on individual efforts from Marta, who drilled a shot narrowly wide in the 35th.

Cristiane should have scored a minute later when she fired over from close range, but Rosana — the player of the game — made no such mistake with her second-half finish.

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Lineups:

Brazil: Andreia, Erika, Daiane, Aline, Maurine, Ester, Formiga (Francielle, 84), Fabiana, Marta, Rosana, Cristiane.

Australia: Melissa Barbieri, Elise Kellond-Knight, Kim Carroll, Servet Uzunlar, Caitlin Foord, Collette McCallum, Emily Van Egmond (Sally Shipard, 61), Heather Garriock, Tameka Butt (Clare Polkinghorne, 85), Lisa De Vanna, Kyah Simon (Samantha Kerr, 79).

Referee: Jenny Palmqvist, Sweden.