Brazil are one of seven teams to have played in all six Women’s World Cups to date, but are also one of just three members of that elite group to have never won it. Their best finish came in 2007, when they lost to Germany in the final, but otherwise it’s been one case of close-but-no-cigar after another for the Brazilians. They hope to fix that in this seventh World Cup, aiming to cut their way through their group before going toe-to-toe with the world’s best women’s teams in the knockout rounds.
Brazil vs. South Korea, Women’s World Cup 2015: Time, TV schedule and how to watch online
Brazil hope to start a Women’s World Cup title challenge with a win, but this South Korea side won’t give them an easy match.
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First, they have to get past South Korea. The Korean women are making their second World Cup trip, and they’re hoping it goes rather better than their last visit, which ended with them scoring just one goal en route to three losses in the group stage in 2003. This is a much better Korean team, though, having coasted through their AFC Asian Cup group before losing two close matches in the semifinal and third-place game. They’re not going to give Brazil an easy time of things, and might even have a chance to shock the world with an upset.
Key player -- Marta (Brazil)
Here’s what Marta does better than almost any other woman in this World Cup: she scores goals. Then she scores some more goals. Then, for a change of pace, she scores a few more goals. Brazil’s 29-year-old star has scored 91 goals in 92 international matches, a pretty stunning total by any measure. Only Christine Sinclair and Abby Wambach have scored more among the women in this tournament, and neither woman has anywhere near the goal-a-game rate Marta does. She’s an absolute force, and even if the rest of this Brazil side doesn’t live up to expectations, they can go a long ways solely because of her.
Key Matchup -- Thaisa (Brazil) vs. Ji So-yun (South Korea)
As South Korea’s main goalscoring threat and one of their most experienced international players despite being just 24 years old, Ji will require close attention from Brazil’s defense and midfield if they want to keep her in check. Thaisa is the woman most likely to be tasked with marking her early on. The athletic midfielder only debuted with the national team two years ago, but she has quickly become a valuable member of the side since then. If she can shut down Ji, Brazil will have a much, much easier time in this match.
Match Date/Time: Tuesday, 7 p.m. ET
Venue: Stade Olympique, Montreal
TV: Fox Sports 1 (U.S. -- English), NBC Universo (U.S. -- Spanish), TSN 1, 3, 4, 5 (Canada), Eurosport 2 International
Online: Fox Sports Go and Fox Soccer 2 Go (U.S. -- English), NBC Universo Now (U.S. - Spanish)
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