In Jinjiang, some interesting incidents unfolded. The Beijing team had scored the most goals in the group stage, relying on a solid defensive strategy and extremely fast transitions. On the other hand, the Brazilians maintained a flawless defense while demonstrating a highly technical and generous attacking style. It was all set for an intriguing clash of styles — an offensive team against a defensive one.

However, just 53 seconds into the game, Paulista's captain, Rafaela Soares, made a mistake that led to an easy goal for Mengyao Zou. The Paulistas struggled to breach Beijing's defensive shield, but Da Silva's free-kick hit the post in the 21st minute, presenting their best opportunity so far. Minutes later, Barbosa made another fantastic save from a beautiful shot by Shiyu Shao. The Brazilians had a second chance to equalize in the 28th minute with a brilliant pass to Joyce Amara, but Thuany Siridakis wasted it. In the next move, Zhou took advantage of a mix-up between the Brazilian defenders and their goalkeeper to chip the ball into the empty net. With a 2-0 lead, things looked easier for Beijing.

The Paulistas faced an uphill task, but in addition to their excellent footballing skills, they displayed admirable resilience. In the 35th minute, they scored one of the tournament's standout goals. Following a series of precise passes, Pereira found Ribeiro, whose cross was spectacularly headed into the net by Amara, bringing them closer to an equalizer.


The momentum shifted abruptly, and captain Soares made up for her initial error by putting the ball into the net from a corner. In added time, Beijing's goalkeeper, Jingyan Mei, won her one-on-one against Ribeiro, and the Chinese team was lucky to reach halftime level. It was fair as both teams had played a well-rounded match and both deserved the victory. All level, the game continued.

Paulista University continued to dominate for much of the second half, with a few opportunities to take the lead from Pereira (48th minute) and Souza (58th minute) through headers, and a last-minute save of Amara's run into the box (67th minute). As fatigue set in, the match became even, and Beijing also had a couple of chances, including a last-minute shot by Ting Wang, which missed its mark.

During extra time, neither team wanted to take too many risks, and both appeared content to rely on the penalty shootout. In the end, the Chinese were more accurate.

Gold Final: Beijing Normal University (CHN) - Paulista University (BRA) 2-2 

Extra time (2-2, 2-2) 

Penalties: 5-4 Zou (1’, 1-0), Zhou (30’, 2-0), Amara (35’, 2-1), Soares (43’, 2-2). Penalty shootout: Pereira 0-0, J. Liu 1-0, Soares 1-1, Zhou 2-1, Souza 2-2, Fang 3-2, Da Silva 3-3, Huang 4-3, Carvallho 4-4, Yu 4-4, Faria 4-4, Dai 5-4. Bronze Final: University of Bordeaux (FRA) - University of Sydney (AUS) 4-1