Tokyo 2020 football: Brazil thump China’s Steel Roses 5-0

Records for Marta and Formiga as Brazilians win opening game of women’s football tournament in Rifu 5-0

China need to beat Zambia on Saturday to stand a chance of qualifying for knockout stage

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Wang Xiaoxue (No 16) and Liu Jing (No 14) of China look dejected after the Steel Roses lose their opening Tokyo 2020 women’s football match 5-0 to Brazil. Photo: Reuters

Published: 7:09pm, 21 Jul 2021Updated: 10:49pm, 21 Jul 2021

China’s Olympics got under way in Japan on the first day of the Tokyo 2020 Games but it was a harrowing start for the women’s football team as they lost 5-0 to Brazil at the Miyagi Stadium.

The Steel Roses, as the Chinese women’s national team are known, had not beaten Brazil in the 25 years since the semi-final of the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta where they would go on to win silver, and the record goes on.

It took just eight minutes before six-time Fifa world player of the year Marta opened the scoring for Brazil, who have twice won Olympic silver, reacting first after Debinha hit the bar with a header.

Debinha then added a second halfway through the first half as she reacted to a rebound from Peng Shimeng’s save from Beatriz.

Brazil's players celebrate their win over China in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games opener. Photo: AFP

China got themselves back into the game but failed to make the pressure count and it was 2-0 at the interval.

Jia Xuquan’s side could not find a goal after the restart as they dominated possession. The closest they came was Wang Shanshan hitting the upright soon after half-time.