The VERY glamorous Brazilians taking on England’s Lionesses

England’s Lionesses take on Brazil at a sold-out Wembley in the first ever edition of the women’s Finalissima this evening.

The Copa America champions, ranked ninth in the world, are looking to secure a win against the UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 victors – and are deploying some of their best players to do so.

Brazil’s line-up is predicted to include Leah Williamson’s teammate Rafaelle Souza, 31, who nearly gave up the beautiful game to make more money in engineering instead. 

The team, nicknamed the Female Canaries in their home nation, will also likely feature Kerolin Ferraz, who feared she would have to give up her passion of football for good aged 12 following health problems. 

Here, FEMAIL takes a look at the glamorous Brazilian players taking on the Lionesses in the first women’s Finalissima between the champions of Europe and the champions of South America… 

Rafaelle Souza, 31 

As she is based in the UK while playing for Arsenal, Raffaele has been seeing the sights, and even visited Stonehenge 

When she is back at home, the player likes to head to the beach before taking to the sea and goes sailing with friends

The footballer is no strangers to showing off her toned physique when she hits the beach back at home 

British fans will recognise Souza as a defender and sometimes midfielder for Arsenal, where she plays with the Lionesses’ captain Leah Williamson. 

The player started her career playing for a club in Mississippi, before moving to the Houston Dash for the 2013 season. 

While considered a trailblazer in her field, Souza almost never made it to the professional level. 

Like many female players, Rafaelle got into football playing with local boys 

‘I started playing at about seven but I always played with the boys, barefoot in my small city in Brazil,’ she said. 

She added it was a surprise when she got the call to play for her national youth team when she was a teen.  

‘When I was 15 I was playing with the men’s team in my city, with adults, and I wasn’t used to playing with people my age. ‘When I got the call-up I was in shock,’ she told the BBC in January. 

Ad she later became the first foreign woman to sign for a Chinese in 2016, joining Changchun Zhuoyue in 2016.

She admitted that being signing with the club, she had considered giving up on football and going into engineering, because she thought she would earn more money. 

But she stuck to football, gaining acclaim both at home playing for the national team,  and internationally, joining Arsenal in 2022. 

Her 2022 season with Arsenal was abruptly interrupted when she suffered a foot fracture last September.

But Souza is now back and ready to prove she is all recovered when she faces off with the Lionesses tonight. 

In her private life, Souza loves to explore London, where she is based while playing with Arsenal, and entertains her family to touristic attractions around the big smoke. 

In late January, she visited the Stonehenge site in Salisbury. 

When she travels home to Brazil, the footballer likes to soak in the sun and hit the beach, or going sailing with friends. 

Bruna Santos Nhaia, 20

At just 20, Bruna Nhaia, who goes by Bruninha, is one of the youngest members of tonight’s line up, but what she lacks in experience, she makes up for in talent

When she is off the pitch, she likes to unwind at sea resorts and travel the world, like here in Costa Rica in 2022

At just 20, Bruna Nhaia, who goes by Bruninha, is one of the youngest members of tonight’s line up, but what she lacks in experience, she makes up for in talent.

She currently plays for Gotham FC in New York City, where she transferred in 2022, and before then, was playing in Brazil for Santos Football Club. 

Bruna was born in Castro and made her first team debut in 2018, before joining the International level in 2019 in the under-18 squad. 

In 2021, she was awarded a Bola de Prata award by Placar magazine for best Defender, which she dedicated to her friends and family. 

‘I am very grateful for everything that God gives me, what an incredible year it has been 2021, with certainty this award goes beyond a trophy,’ she said on Instagram at the time. 

She said she was honoured to receive an award that was inclusive of female football as well as male, and said it was a framework for the women’s game. 

When she’s off the pitch, Bruninha likes to hit New York hotspots, or go for car rides with her friends when she is back home in Brazil.  

Tamires Cássia Dias de Britto, 35

Blonde beauty Tamires likes to play football on the beach with her loved ones, even when she is off the pitch 

Tamires is one of the players with the most experience on the squad. In her personal life, she is a mother-of-one 

The footballer, pictured with the singer Gabi Fernandes, began playing football in the streets as a child 

Known as Tamires by the fans, this defender is a force to be reckoned with, both on and off pitch. 

At 35, she is a football veteran, having participated in two Women’s World Cups, as well as the 2016 Olympic Games. 

But she had humble beginnings, playing on the street with local children. 

‘I started on the street, playing with my cousins and some friends,’ she told Goal Click in 2019. 

‘Everything that I have today is because of football and I thank god every day for this gift. For the next generation, never let someone say that football is not for you,’ she added. 

Back in 2008, she played for the Charlotte Lady Eagles in North Carolina, where she was nicknamed ‘Tam-Tam.’ 

She is currently playing for the Corinthians Football Club in her native country, as well as the national team. 

Off the pitch, Tamires was married to César Roberto, and the pair have a teenage son together, Bernardo.

Kerolin Nicoli, 23

At just 23, Kerolin Nicoli is already making a name for herself on the squad. The young player was hospitalised for four months after suffering a pain in her right leg when she was 12, but beat the odds to become a professional player 

Kerolin was diagnosed with osteomyelitis (inflammation of bone) and encouraged not to do contact sports, but she persevered 

Proving she is just like the rest of us, Kerolin is no stranger to a mirror selfie – although her unbelievable abs put us to shame

Kerolin, 23, originally from Bauru, is thought to be one of the players joining the squad this evening.

But while she’s proved her skills on the pitch for Brazil and her current team North Carolina Courage, her passion for football hasn’t been an easy journey. 

When she was around 12 years old, she was hospitalised for four months after suffering a pain in her right leg. 

She was diagnosed with osteomyelitis (inflammation of bone) and encouraged not to do contact sports.

However, thankfully she recovered, explaining to the Dona do Campinho blog, via Globo Esporte: ‘Over time, things started to happen and I went back to playing football in the street.’

Off the pitch, Kerolin dabbles in modelling and has fronted a campaign for her club in the US, North Carolina Courage.

She is also a family woman who puts her loved ones above all others, posting sweet selfies on her Instagram page of herself with them.

Lauren Leal Costa, 20

Lauren Leal Costa, better known as Lauren, is a 20-year-old centre back who plays at club level for La Liga in Spain. Pictured during a trip to London last year (pictured at Gran Via in Madrid)

In her free time, Lauren, who is very close to her family, likes to hit the waves and to travel, like here in Paris

Lauren Leal Costa, better known as Lauren, is a 20-year-old centre back who plays at club level for La Liga in Spain.

Despite calling Spain her home these days, Lauren loves to be a tourist in her own country and often posts photos on Instagram of herself at landmarks and at metro stations around big Spanish cities.

She also loves touring Europe, and posted sweet touristy photos of herself at the Eiffel Tower in Paris last summer.

Showing off her edgy and urban style, the defender posed for the photos in front of the landmark with her hands in the pockets of her black bomber jacket which she paired with white jeans and white trainers.

Lauren is also a family girl, posting photos with her loved ones often – particularly her mother Jocilen and her sister Larissa. Posting a selfie of the three, she wrote the caption: ‘My girls’ with a heart emoji.

Her parents appear to be her biggest supporters, with Jocilen and Lauren’s father, Erymar, watching their daughter in all her biggest matches.

In one photo, posted before Brazil were due to take on Paraguay in an international game, she posed for a beaming selfie with her parents and captioned it: ‘My family, my greatest heritage’.

Bia Zaneratto, 29

Beatriz ‘Bia’ Zaneratto Joao, 29, plays at club level for Sao Paulo team Palmeiras, but at one point her career took her all the way to Seoul, Korea

The footballer loves to keep her fans updated on her life via social media, and often takes sun-kissed selfies

ia showing off her Brazil jersdey in July 2022. Although well-travelled, one of Bia’s favourite places to go on holiday is her home country

The player seems to have a taste for adventure and posted a picture of herself on a quad bike in 2021

Beatriz ‘Bia’ Zaneratto Joao, 29, plays at club level for Sao Paulo team Palmeiras, but at one point her career took her all the way to Seoul, Korea.

Although well-travelled, one of Bia’s favourite places to go on holiday is her home country, and she has posted stunning bikini photos of herself soaking up the sun on various parts of the coast.

In one photo, taken at golden hour as the sun set in the sky, she said her ‘battery was recharging’ while she strolled through the waves in Jericoquara.

Other photos from the trip showed her with her bikini-clad teammates including Maria Alves and Thais Guedes.

The three players flaunted their toned physiques as they posed on the beach, wearing sunglasses to protect from the rays.

Bia also appears to be something of an acrobat, and posted a photo of herself hanging upside down on a tree branch while wearing a bright red/orange bikini (and sunglasses of course) showing off her tattoos.

Ary Borges, 23

Now 23, Ary Borges started her football career at a young age, joining the youth team of Santos FC at ten years old

At 11 years old she switched to the Centro Olímpico and played in the girls’ under-15 team because there was no under-13s

Ary Borges started her football career from a young age, joining the youth team of Santos FC at ten years old.

Her father was apparently forced to sign a liability waiver because of the physical differences between her and the boys, since she was one of only three girls on the team.

At 11 years old she switched to the Centro Olímpico and played in the girls’ under-15 team because there was no under-13s.

She told GOAL: ‘My dad didn’t take it too seriously at first – he’s very upfront about it. I went to school and in the afternoon there was a court close to my house and I always went to play. 

‘One day I came home at six, seven o’clock at night, he was already home and he said to me: “ah, I saw you playing on the court, it’s cool, I’m going to take you to the Meninos da Vila school (home to Santos FC)”.’

Geyse da Silva Ferreira, 25. 

Going by Geyse, this 25-year-old plays forward for the Primera División club Barcelona when she is not representing Brazil on the pitch

Going by Geyse, this 25-year-old plays forward for the Primera División club Barcelona when she is not representing Brazil on the pitch. 

Born in the coastal village of Maragogi, the forward has played for the Spanish club Madrid CFF between 2017 and 2019 and returned from 2020 to 2022.

She is currently playing for the Barcelona club of female football, which she joined in 2022.   

She gifted her mother and siblings a house with the money she earned from her football career. 

‘We can’t get out of there, it was the place where I was born, where everyone was born. I may be making millions (in the future) but it will always be my favorite place,’ the player said at the time. 

And the doting mother also got her mother’s face tattooed on her arm. 

Her mother, Maria Cristina, recalled catching Geyse playing football with boys on the beach as a child. 

Looking back, she recalled: ‘I didn’t understand the game, I just wanted her to stop playing ball with those boys.’

But she acknowledged her daughter had played incredibly well – and even better for seeing her mother watching on.