Indian team’s campaign ends in Under-17 Women’s FIFA World Cup, lost to Brazil in the third match

Bhubaneswar: India suffered a 0-5 loss to Brazil in their final group match on Monday as they ended their campaign in the FIFA Women’s U-17 Football World Cup with no win and no goals. Being the host, India got a chance to debut in this top competition of the age group. Earlier in their Group A matches, they had lost to the United States (0-8) and Morocco (0-3). The team finished last in the four-team group without any points, losing 16 goals in three matches.

Brazil and the United States qualified for the quarterfinals. The United States defeated Morocco 4–0 in the second match of Group A played at the same time in Margao. Brazil and the United States both scored seven points from two wins and one draw. The match between the two on 14 October was a 1-1 draw. Allin (40th and 51st minutes), who continued to trouble the Indian defence, scored two goals for Brazil with his quick and dashing ability. Apart from him, substitute Laura (86th and 90+3 minutes) also scored two goals.

Earlier, Gabe Burchon gave the South American champion team a 1-0 lead in the 11th minute. Brazil dominated the match from the start and held the ball for much of the time. India could only hit one shot towards the goal, while Brazil hit more than a dozen shots. The Indian team had nothing to lose and the team was playing to save the reputation.

The hosts put up possibly their best performance of the tournament so far and to their credit, the match was not the completely one-sided one feared after their crushing defeat against the United States. The Indian players tried to give tough competition to opponents far superior to them, both physically and technically.

However, the Indian team’s defensive shortcomings were exposed in the match and its players could not even pass well. The Indian defense did well against consistent attacks from Brazil, who hit six shots on target against India in the opening session. The South American champion held the ball 70 percent of the time in the first half.