By: Mia Wang

On Wednesday, August 2nd, soccer superstar Marta announced that she is officially retiring following Brazil’s elimination from the 2023 Women’s World Cup.

Marta played in her first World Cup when she was only seventeen. At seventeen goals, she holds the record for most goals scored at any World Cup. She has won two Olympic silver medals and was also named FIFA’s World Player of the Year six times.

“Brazil had hoped to pull off the biggest win of all, bringing home the Cup for Marta” (NPR). However, Brazil’s ambitious hopes died when they tied Jamaica 0-0 in the group round, effectively eliminating them from the tournament. This is the earliest Brazil has been eliminated from any World Cup since 1995.

After the match, Marta gave an emotional speech. “We now have players to look up to [in women’s football], and that would not have happened if we had stayed still at the first hurdle we faced” (CBS Sports). She explained that when she started playing the sport, she never had a female idol because no female games were ever put on TV. “How was I supposed to see other players? How was I supposed to understand that I could arrive at a national team and become a reference?” (NPR).

Marta’s soccer journey was undoubtedly very successful, from playing in her first World Cup game at seventeen to scoring the most World Cup goals. Now, everyone says farewell as she retires.