So it’s goodbye to the greatest Brazil women’s player of all time, maybe even the greatest player in the world. As Brazil crashed out of the 2023 Women’s World Cup so did the legendary Marta.
She’s a record breaker, a pioneer, an ambassador for the women’s game in South America and, most of all, a truly wonderful player. Marta is one of the most skillful players on the planet, quick footed with a low centre of gravity and able to dribble at high speed to draw comparisons with Pele, the greatest men’s player of all time.
A born leader and charismatic figure she will be sadly missed, exiting this World Cup at the age of 37, and now it is time for the tributes to roll in.
Brazil were expected to navigate their group; and it all started well enough with a thumping 4-0 win over Panama. But then, with the chance to pull away, a 2-1 defeat to France made things difficult and put pressure on the Selecao’s final game against Jamaica. Brazil buckled and failed to break down the resolute Reggae Girlz who held them to a 0-0 draw and sent them, and Marta, home.
She goes back to Brazil with the record for the most World Cup goals scored, at 17, and Marta is the first woman to score in five consecutive tournaments, making here debut at the 2003 World Cup held in the USA. And after Brazil failed to advance out of the group stage for the first time since 1995 a team-mate said: “Her legacy continues, it doesn’t end here. Marta is a woman who will continue to inspire new generations.”
After failing to score at the World Cup finals for the first time the great woman admitted to becoming a little sentimental as she pondered her team’s exit in Melbourne. She knew her younger teammates had been looking to her for inspiration and, though she did her best, the team just fell short: “I won’t play in another World Cup, but they will have other opportunities. So I had to stop lamenting. It’s football, we tried from start to finish, we tried to score but the ball didn’t want to go in.”
Yep that’s football. And now we say goodbye to one of the all time greats. So what next for Marta?
Well, she has plenty in her locker. Marta is a United Nations Sustainable Goals advocate and has been awarded dual citizenship between Brazil and Sweden. She speaks Portuguese, Swedish and English fluently and won’t be short of offers in the media and beyond.
An Orlando Pride player since 2017, Marta may be tempted to keep playing the game she loves for a little while longer.
USA out
In other Women’s World Cup 2023 news the knockout phase is well under way and former favourites United States are out. Sweden was always going to be a tough game for the Americans and so it proved when they lost a penalty shootout as Megan Rapinoe hit her spot-kick high and wide and the winning penalty crossed the line by a matter of millimetres. USA keeper Alyssa Naeher was furious and continued to protest but television pictures showed the ball had just crept over after she thought she had saved it.
The USA dominated the game with 57 per cent possession, 22 shots to nine and 11 to one on target…but, as Marta would say, ‘that’s football’!
Sweden preceded that brilliant win with a group victory last Wednesday, edging out a tough Argentina side as Rebecka Blomquist scored in the second half and Elin Rubensson slotted home a 90th minute penalty. They are now in the last eight and will be a tough team to beat.
The eye-catching result of the Round of 16 so far was Spain’s 5-1 destruction of Switzerland, as Aitana Bonmati scored a double. La Roja are a team, which scores for fun, with 13 goals in the tournament so far, and nine in two pre-World Cup friendlies, a 2-0 win over Denmark and a 7-0 destruction of Panama.
The Netherlands and Japan are also through, beating South Africa and Norway and, of course, there is no Germany after they went out at the group stage.
The Women’s World Cup 2023 betting odds had to take another look now that the Stars and Stripes and Germany have gone and, here at SBOTOP, we’ll keep you posted with all the latest news and updates.
We’re reaching the business end of the competition and the action promises to keep on delivering…but it will have to do so without the great Marta.
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