The South Africans exit the tournament in the first round with a single point from their three games, but would have earned plenty of admirers for a gutsy display at a packed stadium in the Amazon jungle.
All of Banyana’s opponents in the pool, Sweden, China and Brazil, qualified for the knockout stages, and coach Vera Pauw can draw positives that they gave each of them a run for their money.
And it might have been better for the South Africans too – Linda Motlhalo had a good chance to score just before halftime, but lost the ball just as she was about to pull the trigger.
The second half was all Brazil as Roxanne Barker in the South African goal made a number of good saves, while at the other end Thembi Kgatlana was denied by a fine stop from the home keeper.