The Brazilians struck first and struck last, but it wasn’t enough to overcome another game-winning performance by star striker Sam Kerr, who completed a brace to lift Australia past the visitors, 3-2, in front of a record home crowd in Newcastle.
As with the first time Australia and Brazil met this year, Tuesday’s match was a high-scoring affair, with a total of five goals put away between the two sides. This time, however, it wasn’t as one sided as Australia’s 6-1 Tournament of Nations-winning victory. Instead, it was a battle to the finish as the Matildas thwarted a late comeback attempt to defeat the Marta-led Brazilians for a third time this year.