Last summer, fans saw Germany's Miroslav Klose sign off on a glittering international career in style. The veteran striker, who plays his club football for Serie A side Lazio, had announced before the World Cup that it would be his last. And in a conclusion fitting of a Hollywood movie, not only was the 37-year-old finally able to get his hands on international football's most coveted crown but also became the tournament's all-time top scorer by netting Germany's second - his 16th overall - in the 7-1 humiliation of Brazil by die Mannschaft.
Well, now the roles have been reversed in an interesting way. In the women's game, it was a German international - Birgit Prinz - who held the record of most World Cup goals, with 14. However, on Tuesday evening, Brazil took on South Korea in the first of three group stage games. And not surprisingly, it was the women in yellow - who are making their seventh appearance - to emerge victorious over the Taegeuk Ladies who are only featuring for the second time.
More significant, the 2-0 win was a special night for both veteran Formiga, in her sixth World Cup, as well as for star striker Marta:
HISTORY! SENSACIONAL! #Marta becomes the #FIFAWWC all-time top scorer with 15 goals! #Legend #BRAKOR #BRA pic.twitter.com/hIgS3XFwNC
— FIFA Women'sWorldCup (@FIFAWWC) June 10, 2015
At 29, this number is certain to rise over the course of this tournament. Meanwhile the Canarinhas could join Japan in the knock-out rounds with a win over Spain later today.
However, despite this being the first WWC appearance for La Roja, the more experienced Brazilians are not taking them lightly. Spain performed well in their debut match, drawing fellow new girls on the block Costa Rica 1-1 to keep themselves in the running for qualification and Brazil's coach Vadao believes that the Spaniards could give them some trouble due to some interesting similarities between the two teams:
"Spanish football is closer to ours. We hope that they will go more forward and we can go on the counterattack, which is our strong point," he noted prior to the game.
Meanwhile, Spain's manager Ignacio Querida will be expecting a much-improved performance from his squad against Brazil, especially in front of goal:
"We have to be better in terms of finishing each play," he analysed after dropping what could prove to be costly points against Costa Rica.
And finally, ahead of what should be an exciting, fast-paced match, here are some of the defenders who will be tasked with stopping Marta & Co.
Meet @SeFutbol's backline: @marta_torre5, @ruthgar5 & Irene Paredes. #ESP #BRAESP #FIFAWWC http://t.co/uXjgRikC9V pic.twitter.com/ssiWMffDVQ
— FIFA Women'sWorldCup (@FIFAWWC) June 13, 2015
After failing to stop Costa Rica from securing an early equaliser, their manager will hope that Spain will try to keep things tighter at the back as they looked quite suspect on several occasions against Costa Rica in their first match. This is all despite out-shooting them 19 times to three.
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