Denmark and Brazil locked horns with each other in an international friendly, with the Danish women winning the game 2-1.

Janni Thomsen opened the scoring for Denmark with an absolute peach of a strike, cutting in from the right and curling one into the top-left corner with her left foot.

Denmark continued to be the aggressors throughout the game, creating chances consistently. They found ball progression easy through the flanks as they deployed a 3-4-3 formation. Brazil were dangerous in transitions, with the main threats being Kerolin and Debinha, who would find space in behind the fullbacks and cause the defense all sorts of trouble.

Brazil equalized through a jaw-dropping solo goal from skipper Debinha, who collected the ball on the right, beat her marker 1v1, dribbled along the touchline, entered the box, and rounded off the run with a great finish.

Denmark didn’t want to head back to the dressing room with anything less than a win and, with a voracious crowd behind them, the Danes scored the winning goal in stoppage time, thanks to substitute Mille Geji, who was set up by ‘Doctor’ Nadia Nadim, returning to national colors after recovering from an ACL injury.

How did Sofie Svava fare?

Real Madrid Femenino left back Sofie Svava played 78 minutes for Denmark, before being replaced by Simone Boye Sørensen. Svava had a good, promising game in attack.

Playing as a left wing-back in the 3-4-3 formation, Svava generally operated much higher up the pitch. She had a lot of space to exploit on the left flank throughout the game, even getting a chance on goal that was saved. Her decision-making, although not perfect, was still impactful at times. On one such occasion in the first half, she received the ball on the overlap. Svava showed a change of pace, entered the box, made an important dribble to leave her marker in her wake, and cut the ball back into the box for striker Signe Bruun, who should have made it 2-0 for Denmark.

Svava could’ve had another chance at grabbing an assist in the 77th minute, when she crossed the ball into the box, only for captain Pernille Harder to head the cross wide.

She had a reasonably good game in attack. Her acceleration was amazing to watch, and her ball control at high speeds and between the lines while beating defenders was eye-pleasing. However, she was caught high up the pitch in most Brazil attacks. A lot of attacks started on Brazil’s right flank, where Svava should’ve been more alert defensively. But maybe that’s just a trade-off for her advanced positioning in the 3-4-3.

All in all, Svava looked in good form, and definitely looked more confident than she was a few months back while playing for Real Madrid. Let’s hope she can build on this performance.