‘I like what I saw’ – Brazil head coach comments on debut of Manchester United forward

Brazil head coach Pia Sundhage has admitted that she was impressed by the talent shown by Manchester United forward Ivana Fuso in last night’s 4-1 SheBelieves Cup victory over Argentina at the Exploria Stadium in Orlando, Florida.

The teenager came off the bench to make her senior debut for the Brazilian national team and she played the final 23 minutes of the match.

Speaking to FAWSL Full-Time in the post-match press conference, head coach Sundhage admitted that she was pleased with Ivana’s first outing in a green and yellow shirt.

“I liked what I saw” said Sundhage. “I think her first touch was a little bit off but she then just dug into the game.

“She is like a Brazilian. She is technical and she is quick.”

Ivana was born in Salvador, the capital of the Brazilian state of Bahia but she grew up in Germany. The player has previously represented Germany up to Under-19 level before being called up into the senior Brazilian side. Ivana has a difficult decision to make on which nation she will represent for the long term but Sundhage is hoping that the player remains loyal to the South Americans.

She added “I hope that she will choose the Brazilian national team because she is a really good player.

“She has a big chance to play a lot of minutes in this team.”

Fuso will be hoping to make her full debut for The Female Canaries when they face the United States in their second SheBelieves Cup match on Sunday.

Daniel Pentland

I am the editor and owner of FAWSL Full-Time magazine. I have been reporting on men’s and women’s football at various levels since summer 2015. Some of the events which I have reported from include the 2017 UEFA Women’s European Championship, 2018 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup, FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019, SSE Women’s FA Cup final, Emirates FA Cup final, UEFA Europa League, English Football League and various international matches.

See author's posts