Brazil head coach Sundhage backing Manchester United forward Ivana to shine in time

Brazil head coach Pia Sundhage believes that Manchester United forward Ivana Fuso will shine on the international stage as she gets more experience under her belt.

The teenager made her full debut for The Female Canaries last night as they defeated Canada 2-0 in their final match at the 2021 SheBelieves Cup.

Ivana played the first 67 minutes of the match at the Exploria Stadium before being replaced by Barcelona forward Giovana Queiroz. It was Ivana’s second outing at the tournament with the player having been brought on in the second half of Brazil’s 4-1 victory over Argentina in their opening match a week ago.

Head coach Sundhage said that ‘she liked what she saw’ when speaking about Ivana’s cameo appearance against Argentina. The Brazil boss commented further on Ivana last night by saying that she is hoping for big things from the forward with the more international games that she plays.

“I think she was ok” Sundhage told FAWSL Full-Time when reflecting on Ivana’s full debut against Canada.

“This is a player who I think will just grow as she gets more connected to the team and gets more chances to play her role, she can play in many attacking positions.

“It has been a short period of time, but I am happy with what I see.”

Brazil netted two first half goals against Canada to claim a healthy advantage but Sundhage was disappointed with the way in which her side’s performance tailed off in the second half.

She said “I am satisfied with the first half performance but we played poorly in the second half.

“We couldn’t deal with the Canadians’ pressure and how they pushed play forward. There is real room for improvement in the second half.

“I am happy with the result and scoring two good goals which is important.”

Brazil end the 2021 SheBelieves Cup as runners-up to champions the United States who won all three of their tournament matches.

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.

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