Brazil’s Ary Borges became the first player to score a hat-trick at this summer’s Women’s World Cup on Monday with a trio of close-range finishes to put Panama to the sword and get their tournament off to a winning start.
But it was the goal Ary set up for striker Bia Zaneratto which stole the limelight, and reminded everyone of what Brazil can do on their day, such was the brilliance of the build-up, Ary’s back heel to the striker to set her up, rather than shooting herself from right in front of goal.
The move started when one of Brazil’s key players, Debinha, broke in behind down the left, turned and exchanged passes with Adriana, who returned the ball to the forward with a neat flick of her own before Debinha’s first-time lofted cross found Ary inside the box.
Ary Borges, stop that 😮💨Borges hits the BACKHEEL assist to tee up Bia Zaneratto for #BRA's third... Samba style 🇧🇷#FIFAWWC pic.twitter.com/Zsf8L3RI8aJuly 24, 2023
What happened next has contributed largely to the discussion as to whether this goal, scored on the world stage, could be a FIFA Puskas nominee come the end of the year. Ary took the ball down sublimely, before back heeling the ball to a free Zaneratto who coolly slammed home from just outside the six-yard box to put the icing on the cake of a superb Brazil performance.
Women’s football has a rich history when it comes to FIFA Puskas nominations, with Japan’s Kumi Yokoyama the first back in 2010. Since then, the likes of Heather O’Reilly, Louisa Cadamuro, Lisa De Vanna, Carli Lloyd, Ajara Nchout, Amy Rodriguez, Billie Simpson, Shirley Cruz, Sophie Ingle, Salma Paralluelo and Alessia Russo have been nominated, the latter for her own brilliant backheel one year ago today against Sweden in the Euro 2022 semi-finals.
📅 #OnThisDay one year ago, the #Lionesses sealed their spot in the @WEURO final at Wembley! 🤩Oh, and @alessiarusso7 did this... pic.twitter.com/UgHiaBJbuoJuly 26, 2023
Scotland’s Caroline Weir, now starring for Real Madrid in Spain, was nominated twice in as many years in 2020 and 2021 for near-identical goals for Manchester City in derbies against Manchester United, but only two players have ever ranked in the top three.
The first was Ireland’s Stephanie Roche all the way back in 2014, when the Peamount United’s stunning overhead flick and subsequent volley shot her to attention, coming second only to James Rodriguez’s own volley at the World Cup.
Three years later, now Man City star Deyna Castellanos finished third when her spectacular halfway-line goal for Venezuela in the 2016 U17 World Cup also caught the world’s attention, beaten by Oliver Giroud’s scorpion kick for Arsenal.
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Alex Greenwood has told FFT that she believes the development in the Lionesses recently is more mentality-focused than ability-based, while Christine Sinclair has spoken of her longevity. Intriguingly, Canada women’s head coach comes from a small town in County Durham – just like the men's – and FFT met Bev Priestman ahead of the tournament.
