Brazil labour to win

Bhubaneswar: The Brazil U17 national team has so far failed to replicate the achievements of its senior men or even that of the senior women. But before a scanty crowd of just over 4000 at Kalinga Stadium here on Tuesday, the young Brazilians showed their potential by beating Morocco 1-0 in their opening match of the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup.
And the solitary strike came from Ingrid Aparecida Borges de Moraes or ‘Jhonson’, the footballer rated to be the next big thing in Brazilian football. After netting nine goals in their World Cup qualifying campaign, the 17-year-old began where she had left off by scoring the first goal of this edition of the U17 World Cup in the 5th minute of the match.
“I am very happy to be here and happier to score the first goal of the World Cup,” the Brazil striker said after the match.
The winner came after an incisive pass from Lara to the right of the box that found an onrushing Jhonson. Not taking the ground route, Jhonson shot it over the head of the approaching Morocco goalkeeper Wissal Titah to the delight of her teammates and coach.
While Morocco were the first to make a foray into the opposition box through Samya Masnaoui in the very first minute — after an initial scramble post kick-off — it proved to lack the vigour to unnerve Brazil. It was the story of the rest of the game for the North African debutants as they created attacks from the midfield into the box, but never troubled Brazil custodian Leilane.
Morocco skipper Yasmine Zouhir was the most impressive of her teammates. But the frustration of not finding the equaliser only led to her getting a yellow card in the 40th minute.
On the other hand, the frustration for Brazil came from the fact that, in spite of being in control of the opener, they could not hit the net again.
Germany, Chile win:
Chile stuck to their plan and ended up deserving 3-1 winners against New Zealand in the opening group B match at Nehru Stadium in Fatorda on Tuesday. Germany also fought back for a 2-1 win against Nigeria later in the day.