LONDON (AP) – Corinthians captain Gabi Zanotti scored a second-half goal as the team defeated Gotham FC 1-0 in the semifinals of the inaugural Women’s Champions Cup intercontinental competition on Wednesday.
The 40-year-old Zanotti stopped a cross with his chest, shot the ball with his left boot and placed his hand on the right side of Gotham’s Germany goalkeeper Anne-Katrin Berger, but was unable to stop the spill in the 82nd minute.
It was a rough game with few clear chances for either team.
New York-based Gotham has qualified for the inaugural FIFA event. First CONCACAF Champions Cup winthey were pushing hard to score the first goal in the second half. Jaelyn Howell had another high chance, pushing Letizia into the Corinthians goal.
However, Corinthians defended smartly and the Brazilian team scored, with 38-year-old Tamirez crossing to the oldest player on the field to score the important goal.
Gotham pushed hard for a late equaliser, with Berger scoring a free-kick just before stoppage time, when one of Corinthians’ backroom staff was sent off, perhaps for being too enthusiastic before the full-time whistle. Jadyn Shaw took the final action of the game, taking a free kick to the right of the post.
It was Gotham’s first competitive game since then. Won the NWSL Championship He will compete in November as the 8th seed.
Gotham’s Gabi Portillo was kicked in the right leg before intermission, required medical treatment, and was ultimately forced to leave the game early in the second half. Team captain Rose Lovell also left the game with an injury in stoppage time in the second half.
Copa Libertadores champions Corinthians will then await the winner between Arsenal and African champions ASFAR (Morocco/Rabat) in the second semi-final.
Both the final and third-place play-off will be played at Arsenal’s Stadium on Sunday. $2.3 million will be awarded to the winner of the contest. The runner-up wins $1 million.
The six-team Champions Cup was created as a club team event. It builds on the growing number of regional club competitions, led by the success of the UEFA Women’s Champions League.
Two continental champions, Auckland United representing Oceania and Wuhan Chago Jiangda representing Asia, were eliminated in the previous round.
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