Marta made the World Cup tournament her own for a day, scoring two goals and assisting on another to lead Brazil into the quarterfinals with a 3-0 win over Norway Sunday. The biggest star of the women's game brought samba heat to the rainswept 13C (55F) Wolfsburg stadium with stunning moves, speed, vision, finishing and even some rough play. The win puts the Brazilians alongside the United States as the favorites for the title based on their play in the first week of competition. “Thank God, Marta is Brazilian,” coach Kleiton Lima said. Brazil's performance took attention away from a huge refereeing blunder in the other Group D game, during which Equatorial Guinea defender Bruna carried the ball in her hands for a couple of seconds in her own goalmouth without being penalized. It didn't hurt Australia, which beat the African rookies 3-2 to maintain its shot at joining Brazil in the next round. No one seems a match for Brazil in the group, and Marta finally wants to give her nation the biggest cup of all. Colombia gains in confidence Match-winner Adrian Ramos said Colombia's 1-0 defeat of Costa Rica in their Copa America opener was a major boost ahead of the Group A clash with host Argentina. “It's great to start off with a win – it's a real confidence boost,” said Ramos, of German side Hertha Berlin, after converting neatly from a through-ball by Porto's Freddy Guarin. With Argentina, held 1-1 in its curtain-raiser by Bolivia, next up Wednesday, Ramos said the three points were a boon – though he said the margin should have been wider. “We were good in parts and bad in parts too, but the important thing was to win,” said the 25-year-old, who has been making a name for himself in the Bundesliga for two years since arriving from America de Cali.
