Marta on Tuesday said she was representing women in soccer after becoming the leading scorer in the history of the men’s and women’s FIFA World Cups by firing home the penalty that downed Italy and secured Brazil’s place in the last 16 of this year’s tournament in France.
The 33-year-old, widely considered the best player in the history of the women’s game, slammed home from the spot in the 74th minute against Group C winners Italy to secure qualification and take her Women’s World Cup tally to 17 after Debinha was bundled over by Elena Linari.
That puts her one ahead of former Bayern Munich and SS Lazio striker Miroslav Klose in the all-time rankings, and the veteran attacker said that the goal was more than just a personal triumph.
“The feeling is a joyful one, definitely, not only for breaking the record, but for being able to represent women in doing so,” she said. “And for being able to help my team, which is what matters most, qualifying for the next stage of the tournament.”
However, her record-breaking spot-kick was not enough to secure second place in the group, as Sam Kerr’s incredible four-goal haul in Australia’s 4-1 hammering of Jamaica saw the Matildas leapfrog Brazil on goals scored as three sides finished on six points.
It means they could face either France or Germany in the next round, a tough test for a team who have at times spluttered in the group stage.
“I think that when you play a big competition like a World Cup, you can’t choose who you play,” Marta said. “We have this thing now, we need to do what we need to do to keep this thing going in the competition and then whoever we have to play we will be prepared.”
Australia are to play Norway in Nice, France, in the next round on Saturday after they made sure of qualification on Monday with a scrappy 2-1 win over eliminated South Korea.
Having lost their opening match with Italy, they looked dead and buried as they headed toward halftime against Brazil two goals down, but clawed back to win 3-2 before comfortably seeing off Jamaica, who finish the group stage with no points to their name, despite Havana Solaun scoring the Reggae Girlz’s first-ever World Cup goal four minutes after the break.
Kerr became the first Australian woman to score a World Cup hat-trick when she tapped home in the 69th minute following two first-half headers, and her fourth was the goal that secured second spot.
Meanwhile, Italy will take on one of the four best third-placed finishers after topping the group ahead of Australia on goal difference, while Brazil have to wait to know their opponent.
“It’s hard to think of such a thing as a ‘good defeat,’ but you could say that we’re happy for qualifying and finishing first in the group,” Italy coach Milena Bertolini said.
Manchester United on Tuesday confirmed Michael Carrick as interim manager until the end of the season, tasking him with leading the Red Devils back into the UEFA Champions League. “Having the responsibility to lead Manchester United is an honor,” said Carrick, 44, who won 12 major trophies in his 12-year playing career at United. The former midfielder previously had an unbeaten three-game stint as caretaker boss at Old Trafford in 2021. Carrick then took on his first permanent managerial role at second-tier Middlesbrough in October 2022 and was sacked in June last year after the club finished 10th in the
James Harden on Friday scored 31 points and came up big in overtime to help the Los Angeles Clippers erase a double-digit deficit on the way to a 121-117 NBA victory over the Toronto Raptors. Harden scored 16 points in the fourth quarter and overtime as the Clippers pushed their wining steak to five games despite the absence of star Kawhi Leonard with a sprained right ankle. The Clippers trailed by 11 entering the fourth quarter, but Harden drilled a pair of free-throws with 1:24 left in regulation to tie it and after misses from both teams, they went to
Dallas Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg on Wednesday was ruled out for the second half of their 118-109 loss to the Denver Nuggets after the No. 1 pick sprained his left ankle in the first half. Flagg was called for a foul while defending against Peyton Watson and turned the ankle as he fell to the floor with 6 minutes, 1 second left in the second quarter. Flagg limped to the bench and continued to the locker room, but returned for the final 2 minutes, 35 seconds before the break. The 19-year-old did not come out for the second half before the announcement that
Yassine Bounou on Wednesday saved two penalties, while Youssef en-Nesyri netted the decisive spot-kick as hosts Morocco secured a 4-2 shoot-out victory over Nigeria following a 0-0 draw in a tense Africa Cup of Nations semi-final in Rabat. Morocco, seeking their first continental title in 50 years, are to face 2021 winners Senegal in Sunday’s decider in Rabat, while Nigeria take on Egypt in the third-place playoff tomorrow. The 120 minutes before the shoot-out had few clear-cut chances for either side, but it was Morocco who created more opportunities, although they were denied by some fine saves from Nigeria goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali. Nigeria
RSS