Had Mexico's fledgling Women's World Cup team been able to somehow
defeat Brazil in their WWC opener on Saturday, Sunday's headlines would have
proclaimed it the "Miracle of the Meadowlands". It didn't happen.
Instead, Brazil's powerful attack pounded the
World Cup Mexican debutants 7-1 with the help of hat tricks from international
superstars, Sissi and Pretinha. Mexico's lone goal came in the tenth minute
when Maribel Dominguez equalized for Las Tricolores. It was all downhill
from there as Brazil's relentless attack bombarded the Mexican goal with
25 shots and continuous pressure.
While disappointing, the result was not completely
unexpected if you consider the way Brazil completely dominated their South
American competition in World Cup qualifying.
Eighteen year old Linnea Quinones, a San Diego
product who played for Bonita Vista High before moving on to San Diego State
last fall, faced the wrath of the deadly pair of Brazilian strikers.
Unfortunately, she was often forced to face them alone as her defense was
frequently overrun and outplayed by the brilliant dynamic duo.
When the dust settled, they had each recorded
hat tricks and Mexico found itself on the losing end of a 7-1 schooling.
Quinones saves 10
Despite the score, Quinones' ten saves, some of
which were truly marvelous, kept the score from becoming even more lopsided.
In a post-game interview, sporting an icepack for a contusion on her shin,
Quinones stated the obvious. "I think they (Brazil) are a great team. They
are just as good and possibly could beat the United States or at least play
(even) with them." (There is a strong possibility the U.S. and Brazil will
meet in the quarterfinals on July 1).
Not discouraged in spite of the drubbing, Quinones
felt thrilled just to play "a high caliber team like Brazil and to learn
from everything." She also noted that, " in the second half we did a lot
better. We marked them tighter and didn't give them the room to do the things
they did in the first half."
Mexico's coach, Leonardo Cuellar was equally upbeat.
"We were baptized today by one of the most powerful countries in soccer.
All I can see is a bright future for Mexico, taking into consideration that
this team is very young."
Next up, Mexico faces Germany on Thursday. Their
final first round match is scheduled for Saturday, June 27 (9:30 PDT pm on
ESPN2) against Italy. The Italians stunned Germany on Sunday by gaining a
1-1 draw. Things could get a lot worse for Mexico before they get better.
