Australia beat Brazil 6-1 to win the inaugural Tournament of Nations tournament on Thursday at the StubHub Center in Carson, Calif.
By Debby von Winckelmann
Australia won the inaugural Tournament of Nations on Thursday, with a 6-1 rout against Brazil at the StubHub Center in Carson, Calif.
The Aussies got two goals each from Lisa De Vanna and Caitlin Foord, while Sam Kerr and Katrina Gorry scored one each. De Vanna became the Matildas all-time leading scorer with her second goal.
Brazil started the scoring in the second minute, with Camila knocking in a free kick by Tamires. Despite the quick start, that would be Brazil’s only goal.
Australia equalized five minutes later after Kerr drew a penalty kick on a foul by Camila. De Vanna took the shot, but it was knocked down by Brazil goalkeeper Dani Neuhaus. De Vanna followed-up to get the rebound and put the ball into the net.
The Matildas caught fire and scored three more in the half. Foord scored in the 31st minute after Kerr won the footrace against her defender, then crossed it into the box, where Foord easily tapped it in.
Three minutes later, Kerr notched her second assist and De Vanna scored her second goal after Kerr took another ball on a sprint before laying it off to De Vanna.
Gorry gave the Matildas the 4-1 lead in the 40th minute after beating two defenders and knocking her shot in off the inside of the left post.
The action calmed down a bit in the second half in terms of scoring, but not in terms of physicality. Several yellow cards were shown to Brazilian players as frustrations grew.
Foord scored her second goal of the match in the 68th minute, after Tameka Butt chipped a ball over Foord, who went around the charging Neuhaus and scored into the empty net.
Kerr put the cherry on top in the 81st minute, as she was able to settle a cross from Butt to her feet, while between two defenders, and put it past Neuhaus.
The seventh-ranked Matildas went undefeated in the tournament, defeating the World Champions United States 1-0 in Seattle and beating sixth-ranked Japan 4-2 in San Diego before the final match against number eight, Brazil.
This is the first piece of hardware for the Aussies since 2010 when they won the Asian Cup.
