Emily Lima on Corinthians' Copa do Brasil exit, rues wastefulness | OneFootball

Corinthians were knocked out of the 2026 Women’s Copa do Brasil on Monday night (20) after being beaten 1-0 by Ferroviária at Arena Fonte Luminosa, in Araraquara, in a round-of-16 match of the competition. After the final whistle, head coach Emily Lima spoke to Rádio Coringão and assessed the team’s performance, attacking display, choices during the match, and the strategy adopted against the opponent.

Asked about the elimination and what Corinthians lacked to secure qualification, Emily said the team created chances but failed to turn their volume of play into goals. “Putting the ball into the net. Today was a totally different situation from what we had proposed for Friday. And today, the ball just wouldn’t go in. In fact, one of the balls does go in, but unfortunately, in CBF competitions, we don’t have VAR. Anyway, specifically, football today is very fast, very dynamic, and we need technology to help. And I say that for both teams, Ferroviária and Corinthians, if VAR is needed.

Photo: ©Rodrigo Gazzanel / Ag. Corinthians

But I believe we had an interesting amount of possession and attacking play. I believe we could have equalized in the first half. They scored from a set piece, where we had decent coverage in the box, the goalkeeper was on the ball, and we ended up conceding very early. We had the ability to react, but we couldn’t put the ball in the net, and football punishes you. We have to keep working, there’s not much else to do. We faced two very difficult opponents in the first two matches of the Copa do Brasil. We knew we would face these teams at some point. We faced them right away in the third and fourth rounds. And we had to eliminate the teams we were up against.

Today things didn’t happen in the best way because of the result, specifically, but the team gave everything in the best possible way. The players delivered what we had proposed. I think the goal happened in a specific moment and we weren’t able to finish our chances into the net. We have to keep working, carry out our self-assessment, our coaching staff, to pass on the best information to them, because we still have a journey ahead this second half of the season,” she said.

Next, the coach responded about Corinthians’ amount of possession and explained that, in her view, the problem was not chance creation through midfield, but the difficulty in turning opportunities into goals against Ferroviária’s defensive setup.

“I don’t think we lacked creativity in midfield. We’re talking about one of the best midfields in Brazilian competitions. So I don’t believe Corinthians lacked, or lacks, creativity in their play today. Before coming to Corinthians, we studied very closely what Corinthians are. There used to be a lot of play inside, a lot of play through the middle, but with more combination play and a slower tempo. We understand that the teams that come to play against Corinthians sit very deep.

We started the first half of the season playing a lot with through balls and width. That began to create a lot of ease in breaking into the opposition defense, not through the central channel, but through the wide areas, where we were able to get crosses in. Today was no different. They played a 5-4-1. Even with creativity inside, when a team closes down the central channel, you need to stretch the defensive line, push the marking back, and move the ball quickly from one side to the other.

Today things didn’t work. If we had scored the two clear chances we had, we’d be talking about something else, not a lack of creativity in midfield. I think, specifically, the goals just didn’t come at the moments they needed to. We didn’t have the reaction in the sense of scoring one, then trying for another, then another. We even tried, but today just wasn’t the day.”

Emily was also asked about not using all the substitutions available during the match and explained that, in her view, the team was already offensively structured in the final minutes.

“I don’t think there was much more to do. We filled the last line from the 25th minute onward. We filled it with four players, two wingers and two central players. We increased the midfield line. There wasn’t much more to do. Making substitutions just for the sake of it—for me, I’m not obligated to make substitutions. I’m obligated to make sure the team develops in the best possible way. Whether I have ten, five, or one substitution, I’ll use it when necessary. Today, we didn’t see the need to make more substitutions.”

Finally, the black-and-white coach analyzed Ferroviária’s behavior in the two consecutive meetings and explained the strategic changes adopted by Corinthians to try to neutralize the build-up play of Leonardo Mendes Júnior’s team.

“Actually, they’ve had the same pattern ever since Léo arrived at Ferroviária, and that pattern doesn’t change, which is attraction play. That’s his game, and Ferroviária stick to it and don’t change the way they play. In Friday’s match, we tried not to be drawn in. That’s why we waited, waited, waited, let them have the ball. At one specific moment, their center-back made a bad touch, Jhonson saw that difficulty, pressed, and scored.

Today we changed the strategy a bit so as not to be drawn in, but our pressing trigger was with the two forwards closing down that girl in the back three buildup. She would always look for the wide channels whenever she crowded the side the play was going to come out from. So they doubled up on our full-back, and we had already worked on that with this strategy in mind, because these are patterns. I have absolutely no problem talking about how Corinthians play, because anyone who studies us will see our team’s patterns. So we studied them too.

They were very effective on the set piece. That was the game, and that’s what happened today. We didn’t know how to deal with that set-piece situation. They got a fortunate scramble in the box and ended up scoring. It does make things easier when you play the same team again two days later. You’re much more used to them, you study them deeply, and there isn’t much more to say. That’s how it happened today, and we have to keep working,” she concluded.

Now Corinthians turn their attention to the Women’s Brazilian Championship. Next Sunday (26), at 11 a.m. (Brasília time), the Brabas host Vitória at Estádio Alfredo Schürig, Fazendinha, in the 13th round of the competition. Alvinegro lead the table with 28 points, with nine wins, one draw, and two defeats, as well as 31 goals scored and 13 conceded.

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