Brazil will open the Women's World Cup at Maracanã on June 24

Brazil's women's team will open next year's World Cup on June 24, at Maracanã. The announcement was made this Thursday morning (20) at an event at the headquarters of the International Football Federation (Fifa), in Zurich (Switzerland). The Rio de Janeiro stadium will also host the grand final, scheduled for July 25th.

As the host country, Brazil is already guaranteed in Group A of the World Cup. After their debut, the Brazilians return to the field on June 29th, this time at the Neo Química Arena, in São Paulo. The campaign in the first phase ends on July 4th, at Mané Garrincha, in Brasília. The other games in the bracket will be at Casa de Apostas Arena Fonte Nova, in Salvador (two) and at Arena Pernambuco, in Recife.

If they advance to the top of the group, the journey towards the final at Maracanã involves games at Arena Castelão, in Fortaleza (round of 16), Mineirão, in Belo Horizonte (quarterfinals) and again in São Paulo (semifinals). If it comes in second place, Brazil's campaign will have, in order: Mineirão (eighth), Arena Castelão (quarters) and Maracanã (semi).

The Women's Cup will have 64 games in eight cities. The one that will have the most matches is São Paulo: ten, followed by Rio and Fortaleza (nine), Belo Horizonte (eight), Brasília, Salvador, Porto Alegre - which has Beira-Rio as its stadium - and Recife (seven). The draw for the groups will be in December this year, again at FIFA headquarters.

The last time the Brazilian women's team played at Maracanã was in the semi-finals of the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, in 2016, against Sweden. After a goalless draw in normal time, the Scandinavians won on penalties 4-3. The European team was managed by Swedish Pia Sundhage, who, three years later, took over at Amarelinha.

The Brazilians' debut at Maracanã took place on July 20, 2007, in the group stage of the Pan American Games in Rio, with a 7-0 victory over Canada. Six days later, the stadium witnessed Marta, Cristiane and Formiga winning the gold medal in another great victory: 6-0 over the United States.

Behind the scenes, Maracanã competed with Neo Química Arena to host the opening ceremony. The home of Corinthians, the most successful club in the sport in the country, has hosted seven games for the women's team since its inauguration in 2016. The last one on July 6, when Brazil beat the United States 2-1 in a friendly. The record at the stadium is six wins (consecutive) and one defeat.