Marta leads Brazil to seventh Copa America Femenina win

Santiago April 23 (IANS) Marta Vieira da Silva helped Brazil clinch their seventh Copa America Femenina topping the second round with nine points

The final stage of the tournament which was played in the Chilean city of La Serena ended with a surprising 4-0 victory of Chile over Argentina qualifying the Chilean women s football team to compete in the 2019 FIFA World Cup in France for the first time in its history reports Efe.

Meanwhile the Brazilian team s performance lived up to its expectations as it concluded the 2018 Copa America Femenina with an impressive 3-0 win against Colombia securing its seventh title after having participated in the event for eight seasons.

Monica Hickmann Alves scored two points for the Brazilian team with header shots while veteran Miraildes Maciel Mota commonly known as Formiga scored the other goal. Marta the team s star led her team s performance throughout the tournament.

With this title the Brazilian Women s football team reaffirmed its dominance in regional football tournaments and earned a ticket to the 2019 FIFA World Cup in France and the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

Colombia finished in fourth place and will only play in the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima like the other three teams that reached the final phase.

The Colombians experienced a noticeable drop in their performance with a record of one draw and two defeats but their player Catalina Usme was awarded the top scorer title of the tournament thanks to the nine goals she scored in the group stage.

Chile host country of the 2018 Copa America Femenina won the second place against Argentina thanks to the great performance of Carla Guerrero.

Camila Saez scored the first point for the Chilean team while Maryorie Hernandez scored another goal half an hour later.

Before the break Argentine Agustina Barroso shot the ball into her own goal adding another score to the Chilean team.

In the added time Francisca Lara sealed the victory for Chile with a left-foot shot.

With this victory Chile qualifies for the 2018 World Cup in France and will go into the repechage of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

Argentina meanwhile will have to race in the repechage to be able to play alongside Brazil and Chile in the World Cup.

--IANS
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