‘Historic’: Twitter reacts after India’s Manisha Kalyan scores against Brazil-Sports News , Firstpost

Indian women’s football team in action against Brazil. AIFF

The Indian women’s football team on Friday, 26 November locked horns with World No 7 Brazil in their first match of the Torneio Internacional de Futebol Feminino in Manaus, Brazil.

The Indian women players managed to win the hearts of football lovers with their performance even though they suffered defeat. Brazil defeated India by 6-1, but at one point in time, India were level 1-1 against the two-time Olympic silver medalists.

The historic goal that put India on equal footing with Brazil was scored by Manisha Kalyan in the eighth minute of the match.

Manisha equalised for India after Debora Oliveira had put the 2007 World Cup runners-up in the lead in the very first minute of the match.

The match also marked the retirement of Brazil legend Formiga at 43 after playing 26 years and 205 games for the national team.

Here’s how twitter reacted to the goal and India’s display in the match:

Here’s that moment Manisha Kalyan is unlikely to forget — when she scored to level against the women’s football team! pic.twitter.com/D6JRY0Xm5z

— jonathan selvaraj (@jon_selvaraj) November 26, 2021

An impromptu SportoGraph of the Manisha Kalyan goal. Will make a better one later. #BRAIND ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/WOjOjZbcU8

— Tareque Laskar (@tarequelaskar) November 26, 2021

Brazil beat India 6-1
India fought well in the first half against this 7th ranked Brazilian side. But Brazil took full control in the second half and scored 4 more goals to beat India 6-1.

Manisha Kalyan scored a stunning goal for India in the 7th minute of the match

#BRAIND pic.twitter.com/bJutPtPbnM

— SouthSoccers (@south_soccers) November 26, 2021

Well done girls, this experience of playing #Brazil will make our girls stronger and strengthen women’s football in India.

Forget the scoreline and build from the experience of 90 mins to grow in the game.

Manisha will cherish her goal as her best moment in football.

— Shaji Prabhakaran (@Shaji4Football) November 26, 2021

Please make a big deal of Manisha’s goal and India’s performance – mostly through that first half. Build, build, build. ⚡ #BRAIND @IndianFootball

— Kunaal Majgaonkar (@kunmajgaonkar) November 26, 2021

What a night to remember for each and every single footballer of the Indian WNT!

Also, I’m sill buzzing for Manisha!!!#IndianFootball

— Philarima Hynniewta (@philarima) November 26, 2021

This is a world class goal by any standards Well done Manisha Kalyan https://t.co/boFQJaNzOB

— Viren Rasquinha (@virenrasquinha) November 26, 2021

Here are some facts about Manisha Kalyan:

Kalyan made her debut in the senior team at age of 17. She helped Gokulam Kerala win the Indian Women’s League in 2019. For her performance, the ace footballer was awarded the AIFF Emerging Footballer of the Year 2020-21. She opened her international goal tally against UAE earlier this year.

She was also the first-ever Indian player to score in a top-flight Asian competition against Uzbekistan’s FC Bunyodkar in the 2021 AFC Women’s Asian Championship

At the Torneio Internacional de Futebol Feminino, a four-nation tournament, the India women’s football team is scheduled to play all its matches in Manaus. The Indian team will lock horns with Chile on 29 November and Venezuela on 2 December.