Socceroos and Seleção: Brazil vs Australia in Brisbane

Words: Bernice Au

Images: Bernice Au

Shot on film.

I was greeted with a sea of yellow jerseys, with fans wearing their Brazil jersey amongst Australia’s green and gold.

We were here to witness the decider at Suncorp Stadium.

The Queensland Football Series spoiled fans with two international fixtures. One in Townsville, which ended in a 1-1 draw, and the second match in Brisbane.

Socceroos v Seleção, this was the decider. I was there to photograph the showdown on analog film. Fans poured into the stadium and I could feel the excitement in the air.

It almost felt like it didn’t matter who you cheered for, just being at the stadium was enough, for fans of football.

©Bernice Au/ Terrace Edition. Cruzeiro fans among the crowd.

Brazil wasted no time, Vanderson scored in the first three minutes with a cute dipping shot past Patrick Beach.

Socceroos were enjoying the end-to-end nature of the game and answered back with an equaliser near the half-hour mark from Alessandro Circati.

Five minutes after that goal celebration, Connor Metcalfe showed Brazil that Australia can compete in the technique stakes with a superbly placed left-footed curler into the top corner to make it 2-1 to the hosts.

However it was Brazil adding to the raucous atmosphere with a penalty spot equaliser on the cusp of half-time.

Raphina slotted the ball past beach confidently to leave the match well poised going into the second-half.

©Bernice Au/ Terrace Edition. Raphina penalty vs Australia.

Both teams went hell for leather after the restart but it was only Brazil’s Bruno Guimarães who could find the clinical finish to break the deadlock on 69 minutes.

It was a masterpiece of quick passes from the Brazil side that looked like something from the 2002 Seleção playbook.

The noise from the Brazilian crowd behind me went up a notch and only increased when Vinícius Júnior found ball to feet on the edge of the Australian box on 80 minutes.

It was fitting that a show of superlative control from Vini JR forced the foul in the box and then the Brazilian showed his world-class shooting ability with a controlled penalty past the impressive Beach.

The game was a real spectacle, ending with six goals, two penalties and 4-2 win for Brazil.

©Bernice Au/ Terrace Edition. Australia vs Brazil.

From a photographer’s perspective it was a thrilling match to capture on film.

My home country vs the football nation that captivated me when I was younger. The 2002 World Cup was held in South Korea and Japan, which meant a friendly broadcast timezone for Australian viewers.

A younger me followed Brazil’s journey and watched them win the World Cup that year. It's such a vivid memory.

This is part of the reason why I shot this match on 35mm film. I wanted to capture images of the match with a sense of nostalgia.

One of football’s oldest football powers with the samba spirit vs the growing football nation and its Socceroos, it couldn’t have been more brilliant.

Bernice is on Instagram: @night.jarr

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