Key events
81 Mins: There’s been a few more changes for Brazil, with Bruninha coming on for Portilho, Fe Palermo for Kaká, and Laís Estevam replacing Lauren.
This has been accompanied by a switch to a more attacking formation, too, as the visitors look for a third that would put this game to bed.
79 Mins: Carpenter is running her guts out – one wonders what Joe Montemurro is thinking, given that Lyon play Reims on Friday evening – again getting down the right and threatening the Brazilian backline.
76 Mins: The official crowd on the Gold Coast is 25,297, beating out the 24,644 that watched the Socceroos lose to Bahrain at this venue a few months ago.
It’s the 16th consecutive home sell-out for this side.
75 Mins: Nycole plays the ball out to Duda, who in turn tries to slide a pass through to Gomes on the left but there’s just to much mustard on it and it goes out for a goal kick.
75 Mins: Galic plays the ball out to Carpenter on the right, who in turn combines with Raso as the Matildas get forward.
After Kennedy comes up to get a bit of the action, too, the Spurs attacker sends in a cross that bounces out to Yallop but before she can get a shot off, Nycole comes up behind her like a librarian and pokes the ball away.
71 Mins: Galic shoots from the top of the box but it’s a comfortable enough save for Lorena.
Lauren went down injured before the shot came in and Brazil aren’t happy play was allowed to continue.
Both sets of players head to the dugout for a drink and further instruction as the defender receives treatment.
69 Mins: A reminder of the danger of Brazil. Another dangerous looking switch from the visitors gets the ball to Adriana on the right. Freier gets back to help the defence and puts it out for a corner.
Substitute Dudinha gets her first shot of the game off that set piece after Brazil work the ball to her outside the penalty area but her long-range effort is high.
66 Mins: Haas pretty much hip checks Freier from behind, giving away a free kick. Nominally, she’s signed to Internacional but after this series maybe the Broncos or Titans might be interested; we’ve already seen Sheridan Gallagher make the football – league – football jump, after all!
The free kick is taken quickly and springs Raso into a dangerous area of space on the right but her attempt to cut the ball back from the byline is closed down.
63 Mins: Carpenter charges straight down the middle of the park before laying it off for Raso on the right. She keeps the ball low in search of Gielnik but the ball is cleared away by Brazi.
The visitors take the ball up the other end quickly but Grant wins a free kick from Portilho to end the danger.
62 Mins: Brazil make a couple of changes as Dudinha replaces Gio and Nycole Raysla replaces the dangerous – just four games into her international career and she’s properly established that adjective – Gutierres.
60 Mins: Charli Grant has joined Gielnik and Galic as a waiting substitute and now replaces Nevin. The Melbourne Victory attacker replaces a fellow A-League Women striker in Heyman and Galic has replaced van Egmond.
Raso stays out there … and immediately has a heavy collision with Duda.
59 Mins: Freier threatens to burst down the left flank but Kaka gets across to lay in a challenge and shuts down the danger, winning a throw in for her side.
57 Mins: The Matildas have a corner! Nevin swings it just beyond the penalty area but the Australians can’t get a strong head on it. Nonetheless, they retain and recycle possession across the backline.
Raso was flattened behind play before the corner, too, and looked a bit sore. Her Spurs have Everton on Sunday and with Emily Gielnik and Daniela Galic warming up, she might soon be coming off.
55 Mins: Duda gives away a free kick in a dangerous area after bringing down Yallop. The Brazilian midfielder and her dugout are none too pleased about it but Kennedy’s resulting free kick goes straight into the wall.
54 Mins: Australia break quickly in transition down the right through Carpenter, their first real attack of the half.
It’s one that ends in disappointment, though, as van Egmond sends a wayward pass towards her right back that goes out for a Brazilian throw-in and brings the threat to a close.
Photograph: Dave Hunt/EPA
53 Mins: Brazil twice find space on the right flank to drive low crosses into the box but twice the Matildas clear, the latter time for a corner.
Haas meets Angelina’s resulting delivery with an acrobatic looking attempt but it bounces wide.
52 Mins: It’s currently 24 degrees on the Gold Coast but the humidity is sitting at 94%. How this game is still going as quickly as it is? That’s beyond me.
50 Mins: Another corner, again sent short to Gutierres but this time the Matildas clear it before she can pick out a teammate.
49 Mins: Brazil swings in their eighth corner of the game – Australia has had none – but it comes to nothing.
After Brazil keeps the ball in their attacking third, Prior blocks an attempted cross by Duda out for a throw-in.
48 Mins: Not the type of first impression that Prior will have wanted to make, the ball is slid past her and springs Gio into space. Fortunately for the debutant, the resulting shot goes high over the bar.
46 Mins: We are back underway on the Gold Coast, with Brazil leading the Matildas two goals to one.
Confirmation of those changes, with Foord replaced by Freier and Prior coming on for Hunt.
Looks like some changes are coming for the Matildas.
After showing some late flashes on Thursday – albeit after Brazil had the game won – Sharn Freier will be coming on for Caitlin Foord, while Tash Prior is entering the game and, in doing so, becomes Matilda #231.
Here’s the goal that saw the Matildas halve the deficit in the shadow of the half-time break.
Half-time: Australia 1-2 Brazil
Ok, everybody breath.
A frantic first-half comes to a close and as was the case in Brisbane last Thursday, it’s Brazil that will hold a 2-1 lead heading into the sheds.
Though the Matildas often thrive in chaotic games like this, Arthur Elias’ side has probably had the best of the action so far, being clinical with a couple of chances and looking the more threatening of the two sides and forcing Micah into some of important saves. Moved into the starting XI, Adriana in particular will be wondering how she hasn’t scored, given the chances she has had.
Though second-best, Australia has at least been better than their last opening half; able to move the ball into threatening areas a bit more than they did in the first half of the first meeting between these two sides, even if they’re still not testing Lorena in the Brazilian goal as often as they would like. The transitional nature of the game is helping in that regard.
Probably helping the Matildas, this game hasn’t been as physical as the Battle in Brisbane was; a few early yellow cards from the referee helping to reign in some of the biff.
45+5: Some silly bugger in the crowd with a whistle has given it their own half-time whistle, fooling the ground announcer into announcing the break while the action is still happening.
That has to be one of my least favourite gags that has popped up in modern football.
45+4 Mins: Foord goes on a windy run but can’t find an angle towards goal and instead opts to play it to Raso, who has her cross charged down.
The Matildas keep the ball in their attacking third, however, and Raso springs Carpenter into space on the right side of the penalty area. Her cross, though, is closed down too.
45+2 Mins: As she does so well, Carpenter gets forward, twists and turns and wins a free kick on the right flank. Cooney-Cross fires the free kick towards deep past the back post and Raso can’t keep her attempt to send the ball back into the danger zone in.
Goal! Australia 1-2 Brazil (Raso 42′)
Good lord it’s all happening on the Gold Coast. I can’t hardly keep up with it all. But against the run of play, the Matildas have grabbed one back!
Foord seizes upon a ball played down the right by Yallop, skips past Isa Haas and places a perfectly weighted pass to Raso at the back post, with the Tottenham attacker placing the ball home to halve the deficit. Foord is going to be coming off at halftime but she’s left us with a reminder, she really is an absolutely incredible player.
Brazil will feel they should have had a free kick for a foul by Yallop on Adriana during the buildup but there’s no VAR in this game to bring it back. Amid protests from the Brazil dugout, one of their members of staff is booked.
Goal! Australia 0-2 Brazil (Lauren 40′)
The Matildas are being overrun by a rampant Brazil.
A short-corner routine gets the ball to Gutierres at the top of the box, where she rounds Raso and floats in a perfectly weighted ball to the back post. Having shaken off the attention of her marker Heyman, it’s met there by Lauren, who bundles the ball over the line for her first international goal and to double her side’s advantage.
38 Mins: Micah is the only reason this isn’t 2-0. Gutierres is played into space all on her own behind the Matildas’ backline and lashes a shot towards the near-post but the Liverpool keeper is just able to keep it out.
34 Mins: Brazil again come very close to a second. And again it’s Adriana. She and Portilho play a delightful one-two atop the box, the latter backheeling it back into her path, before Adriana places a shot just across the face of goal – Gutierres desperate attempt to slide in at the far post and turn it in just coming up short.
32 Mins: A threat of two goals in quick succession as a corner falls to Adriana at the back of a large pack of players, with the attacker taking a touch before lashing an effort over the bar.
Goal! Australia 0-1 Brazil (Gabi Portilho 29′)
Space behind the Matildas costs them again. A rapid move from Brazil as Duda swings a pass across the pitch to find a wide-open teammate and switch the play from left to right.
With no support around her and two attackers to think about, Nevin is caught badly out of position as a first-time ball is played in behind for Portilho, who advances into the area and smashes the ball into the top corner of the net.
28 Mins: A free kick is swung into the box by Brazil and met with a glancing header from Duda, one that bounces just wide of Micah’s near post.
27 Mins: This game is absolutely frantic at the moment, the ball pinging from one end to another like it’s a game of basketball – only both teams are the Seven-Seconds-or-Less Phoenix Suns.
25 Mins: The ball falls to Adriana just inside the Matildas’ penalty area on the right but she can’t get a shot away before she’s closed down and the ball is cleared away by Nevin.
24 Mins: Brazil’s nominal third-choice goalkeeper Cláudia is doing some warm-ups and surveying the scene after Lorena went down. Seems whatever forced Honegger off in Brisbane won’t allow her to be called upon on the Gold Coast.
