Published 6/29/2011 3:22:03 PM by Roberto Garcia from soccermogul

Australia fought one of the World Cup favorites Brazil tooth and nail Wednesday in Germany.  They even took the match to halftime scoreless, but Brazil's talent would prove a bit too much in the end as they slipped by with a 1-0 win.

Brazil looked disjointed in the face of Australia's pressing game, and passes went astray as it was forced to rely on individual efforts from Marta, who drilled a shot narrowly wide in the 35th minute.

The breakthrough in a tight Group D match came in the 54th minute, when Cristiane capitalized on some scrappy Australian defending to head the ball to the 28 year old Rosana, who took one touch past a defender before unleashing her shot past goalkeeper Melissa Barbieri.

Australia weren't without their chances though as they had a pair of glorious opportunities in the final 30 minutes of play.  The clearest of chances fell to Lisa De Vanna in the 87th minute as she got behind the Brazilian defense and raced in on goal.  Instead of having a touch and preparing a shot on goal, Lisa De Vanna tried to fire off balance and balooned the ball over despite having 5 or 6 steps on her chasers.

The win continued the trend of one goal games at the FIFA Womens World Cup.  Every game except the USA match have been decided by a single goal.  In the earlier Group D match Norway's direct approach pulled them to a 1-0 win over Equitorial Guinea.

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