USA VERSUS BRAZIL (I)

USA VERSUS BRAZIL
Newspaper article information
Author	Ginny Potter
Newspaper	The Daily Prophet
Date of publication	4 July 2014
Subject	The USA-Brazil match of the 2014 Quidditch World Cup

USA VERSUS BRAZIL was the title of a Daily Prophet article written by Ginevra Potter and published on 4 July 2014. The article covered the match between the American and the Brazilian National Quidditch teams, part of the 2014 Quidditch World Cup.

Transcript

From the Daily Prophet’s Quidditch Correspondent in the Patagonian Desert, Ginny Potter.

USA 120 - Brazil 100 (on-going)

For the second time in this tournament, it looks like a game will run through the night - and possibly beyond.

If one word summarises this semi-final so far, it is: nerves. Careless errors have littered the match, undoubtedly because a place in the final means so much to both sides. The USA has already climbed higher in the tournament than they have ever managed before, and 2014 will mark their emergence as a major force in the sport. Meanwhile Brazil, a once-great side who have lost their way in recent years, are fighting for their first final since 1982. The stakes are high and it is perhaps not to be wondered at that players are showing signs of pressure.

We have seen more Quaffle drops than in any match so far, with US Chaser Mercy Wardwell so frustrated by her fifth fumble that she beat her head repeatedly against her broom handle until restrained by Seeker Darius Smackhammer. Yet Wardwell was not alone: even Fernando Diaz and Alejandra Alonso, two of Brazil's finest, allowed the Quaffle to slip through their fingers twice apiece.

Several mis-hit Bludgers have injured the Beaters' own teammates. When Lucas Picquery sent the Bludger into the face of Keeper Susan Blancheflower in the fourth hour of the game, she risked further injury by attempting to jump onto Picquery's broom to remonstrate with him. Cautioned by the referee, Blancheflower was the next to make an elementary error when she came too far out of the scoring circle, allowing Alonso to slip past and sneak a goal that took Brazil ten points ahead, although not for long. Quentin Kowalski scored twice as night fell, giving the US a narrow lead, but this is still anyone's game as darkness thickens.

Appearances

• Pottermore
• Quidditch Through the Ages (2018 audio edition)

Notes and references

2014 Quidditch World Cup
From the Daily Prophet’s Quidditch Correspondent in the Patagonian Desert, Ginny Potter
DISASTROUS OPENING CEREMONY LEADS TO QUESTIONS ABOUT QUIDDITCH WORLD CUP SECURITY (12 April 2014) NORWAY VERSUS IVORY COAST (13 April 2014) NIGERIA VERSUS FIJI (14 May 2014) BRAZIL VERSUS HAITI (15 May 2014) USA VERSUS JAMAICA (I) (16 May 2014) USA VERSUS JAMAICA (II) (16 May 2014) LIECHTENSTEIN VERSUS CHAD (I) (17 May 2014) LIECHTENSTEIN VERSUS CHAD (II) (18 May 2014) LIECHTENSTEIN VERSUS CHAD (III) (19 May 2014) BULGARIA VERSUS NEW ZEALAND (20 May 2014) JAPAN VERSUS POLAND (21 May 2014) WALES VERSUS GERMANY (22 May 2014)	BRAZIL VERSUS WALES (4 June 2014) BULGARIA VERSUS NORWAY (6 June 2014) USA VERSUS LIECHTENSTEIN (8 June 2014) LATE BREAKING NEWS (8 June 2014) RETURN OF HANS THE AUGUREY (9 June 2014) JAPAN VERSUS NIGERIA (10 June 2014) PLACE YOUR BETS WITH LUDO BAGMAN (2 July 2014) USA VERSUS BRAZIL (I) (4 July 2014) USA VERSUS BRAZIL (II) (5 July 2014) BULGARIA VERSUS JAPAN (6 July 2014) DUMBLEDORE'S ARMY REUNITES AT QUIDDITCH WORLD CUP FINAL (8 July 2014) (By the Daily Prophet’s Gossip Correspondent, Rita Skeeter) PLAY-OFF FOR THIRD PLACE (9 July 2014)
Live Coverage of the 2014 Quidditch World Cup final (11 July 2014)
From the Daily Prophet’s Quidditch Correspondent, Ginny Potter and Gossip Correspondent Rita Skeeter