Corinthians booked their place in the FIFA Women’s Champions Cup 2026™ final following a 1-0 victory over Gotham FC. They’ll take on either Arsenal Women FC or ASFAR at Arsenal Stadium on Sunday.
FIFA Women’s Champions Cup Semi-Final
Gotham FC 0-1 SC Corinthians
Corinthians goal: Zanotti (83)
Gotham started the brighter of the two sides but it was Corinthians who had the first effort of note, as Belen Aquino fired wide after a good run and cross by Jaqueline.
Down the other end, neat play by Rose Lavelle and debutant Savannah McCaskill saw the ball fall to Jaelin Howell on the edge of the area, but she dragged her effort past the post.
Corinthians grew into the contest and ended the half the stronger of the two sides. Andressa forced Gotham goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger into a save with a rasping drive from the edge of the box. The Brazilian then looked destined to score when receiving the ball centre of the goal 14 yards out, only for Jess Carter to get across and make an excellent block.
Gotham, perhaps shaken by Corinthians’ pressure, started the second half well and had two golden chances to go ahead. First, Emily Sonnett saw a header from a corner blocked off the line, before Midge Purce found Katie Stengel in space in the box, but the substitute could only scuff her effort wide.
The Timão held firm and were rewarded for their resilience with seven minutes to go. Terrific work down the right by Ivana Fuso saw the ball worked over to Tamires, who swung in a cross which captain Zanotti controlled with her chest before smashing home.
Quotes
“It’s a wonderful feeling. It was a well-executed game plan in a very tough match against a team that plays very fast, with very high intensity. But we knew we would have our chances. As a group, we understood the magnitude of the match. We want much more, we will work very hard for it. We know the size of the challenge, regardless of who is on the other side [in the final]. Maybe we won’t be favourites again. But we will be very strong in this final.”
Leonardo Piccinato, Corinthians coach
“I arrived at Corinthians in 2018 and waited a long time for this moment. Today I was blessed, the ball fell to me. But I wanted to highlight the group, the collective work we did today. Everyone gave their all, playing just like the Corinthians expect, with fire in our eyes, trying to close every space. Our goals won’t stop here. This group has a very strong mentality and is already thinking ahead, about the final. It’s step by step. The word I would use is fulfilled. But we still have one more match”.
Gabi Zanotti, Corinthians goalscorer
“Obviously were disappointed. I’m disappointed in myself for not clearing the ball [for Corinthians’ goal]. They countered on us quite a few times and we didn’t do well enough to prevent that. We had many chances in the final third too but if you don’t put the ball in the back of the net, you’re not going to win the game. We weren’t clinical enough in either third. We’ll go back to training tomorrow and try to put things right for the next game. ”
Jess Carter, Gotham defender
