In a funny way, it is testament to the progress of the women’s game in Brazil that their World Cup group-stage elimination at the hands of Jamaica has prompted a proper bout of hand-wringing.
Historically, there has always been a slight reluctance to pile in on this Selecao. Between a lack of funding, dysfunctional institutions, deep-set societal sexism and generalised indifference, Brazil’s women footballers have always had the odds stacked against them. When they came up short in tournaments, the instinct was to sympathise rather than chastise.
This time, though, things feel a little different.
We are not quite talking about the levels of national hysteria that accompany any major defeat for the Brazil men’s team, but the criticism of Wednesday’s performance in Melbourne has been sharp and surgical.
“Brazil played without personality,” was the verdict of Globo commentator Ana Thais Matos. Alicia Klein, a columnist for the UOL website, the country’s leading news portal, was similarly cutting. “The team was apathetic and nervous,” Klein wrote. “They came up short tactically, technically and emotionally.”
From an emotional perspective, there were obvious failings in the goalless draw with Jamaica, who advanced to the round-of-16 instead. “Patience” has…
