AUGSBURG, Germany (AP) — Marta made the World Cup tournament her own for a day, scoring two goals and assisting on another to lead Brazil into the quarterfinals with a 3-0 win over Norway on Sunday.
The biggest star of the women’s game brought samba heat to the rain-swept, 55-degree Wolfsburg stadium with stunning moves, speed, vision, finishing and even some rough play. The win puts the Brazilians alongside the United States as the biggest favorites for the title based on their play in the first week of competition.
Brazil’s performance took attention away from a huge refereeing blunder in the other Group D game, during which Equatorial Guinea defender Bruna carried the ball in her hands for a couple of seconds in front of her own goal without being penalized. It didn’t hurt Australia, which beat the African rookies 3-2 to maintain its shot at joining Brazil in the next round.
