Nine months on, Tainá Maranhão can make 10th Brazil appearance

A representative of the new generation of Brazilian women’s football, Tainá Maranhão could reach 10 matches for the Brazilian National Team next Saturday (6) against the United States. The young forward, who started playing football at 15, has steadily progressed in her appearances for the Canarinho since her first call-up to the U-17 team in 2019.

In October last year, she made her debut on coach Arthur Elias’s squad list. Today, she has five call-ups to the senior national team and nine matches played. Of the six games the Canarinho has played this year, Maranhão found the net in three: in the friendly against Costa Rica and in the matches against South Korea and Zambia in the FIFA Series.

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In a press conference this Wednesday (3), she said she is happy to be experiencing this stage of her career, especially because of her age — she turns 22 in August. “Everyone says I’m one of the youngest, and I take that as a good thing. Everything I see in the more experienced players, I try to absorb for myself and take as learning,” said Tainá.

Tainá Maranhão and Raissa Bahia during the Women’s National Team’s second training session at CT Joaquim GravaCredits: Lívia Villas Boas/Staff Images/CBF

The press conference took place after the second day of training for the friendlies against the United States, scheduled for Saturday (6) in São Paulo and Tuesday (9) in Fortaleza. One of Palmeiras’ key players, with whom she has already won major titles such as back-to-back Paulista championships and the Copa do Brasil, Maranhão does not feel the weight of expectations.

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“I’m happy even because of the expectations. And I’m going to work to live up to everyone’s expectations,” she assured. In the squad called up for these FIFA Date matches, the forward is joined by great club teammates: Raissa Bahia, who is beginning to make her mark with the Canarinho, with two appearances; and Bia Zaneratto, a veteran with 130 matches.

“Everyone knows I’m very inspired by Bia, but there’s also Guti (Amanda Gutierres), who keeps me on my toes,” she admitted, with the familiarity of someone who played alongside them for two years. “I think this reunion is really cool, we build closeness. Everything we’ve been through adds a lot to what we’re experiencing with the national team. Everything is still very new to me, but I’m loving it,” said the player, whose speed and intensity on the field are already showing up in her numbers with the Canarinho.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.